Memorialization

Since the Northampton State Hospital close in 1993, various ideas have been presented for memorializing the site. Of the many proposals, only a few projects, so far, have succeeded in raising awareness about the State Hospital and its past. Perhaps now that the land is in the process of being redeveloped, other members of the community will step forward to see that something is done out of rememberence for the buildings and people who are no longer there.

In 1998, Patricia Deegan, M.D., gave a presentation about the history and forgotten burial ground at Danvers State Hospital. After her presentation, a group of people gathered to speak about starting a similar project at Northampton. Ted Clements, Tanya Beecher, and Rebecca Macauley formed Northampton State Hospital Burial Site Project in an attempt to discover where the site at NSH is, and memorialize it properly. Through research of old records and archeological consulting, The Burial Site Project located the grounds in which over 181 patients were buried from 1858 until 1920. However, because of various personal reasons, the Project has not been able to complete their work--memorializing the forgotten cemetary. If you are interested in helping, please visit their website and contact the organizers.

Stanley Elkins, head of the board of Historic Northampton is organizing a citizen's group which aims to preserve the Main Building of the hospital. An article about the group can be found here. The group is calling for a cost-comparison study of saving or demolishing the building. The Community Builders plan to weigh the option following an assessment.

On the weekend of November 17, 2000, several events were held to raise awareness and promote the rememberence of the past patients and employees of Northampton State Hospital. Conceived by visual artist Anna Schuleit, the weekend consisted of art exhibits, an academic symposium about mental illness, a patient forum where clients could voice their experiences at and their feelings about Northampton State Hospital, as well as a sound installation at the Main Building--Bach's Magnificat played though over a hundred speakers installed in the building. The State Hospital: In Memoriam event sparked controversy and other emotions from the community. Visit the project website to learn more.

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