Legislative shifts and age adjustments Despite the recommendations of the board of trustees and the superintendent, in 1870, the legislature once again changed the minimum age of commitment at the reform school from 14 to 17 allowing for the older class of boys to be committed there. Also that year, the legislature pass provisions allowing the visiting agent to work with the courts to identify suitable boys to indenture directly from the courts without being committed to the reform school first. This would lessen the amount of younger boys committed to the reform school while making additional room for the older incorrigible boys. As a consequence of these two legislative acts there were not enough young qualified boys committed, to fill the trust houses and the quantity of older incorrigible boys increased.
The evolving inmate population Work for the older boys changed as well. They could not be trusted to work on the farm, without escaping, so their only means of labor was in the workshop seating chairs. The trustees thought these boys should be taught some industrial trades, but the legislature failed to appropriate money to build additional workshops, buy the machinery and hire overseers necessary to implement it. What occurred, because of these changes, was a total change in the character of the institution. It went from a place of reformation for young offenders to a place for housing older incorrigible offenders with a building and officers who were ill-equipped to deal with it. With the abolishment of the nautical branch, the trustees and superintendent sought relief from the legislature, asking that the older boys be sent elsewhere or money appropriated to build an addition to house and segregate the incorrigible ones. The legislature responded with small appropriations enough to make minor improvements in the security of the existing building.
The boys organizations and activities Throughout the 1870s, a number of organizations were established to benefit the boys with good conduct. One of these was the "Tried and True" class. In order to be a member, a boy would have to be voted in, based upon his overall good conduct over a period of time. The members would wear nickel-plated badges with the words tried-and-true and had privileges such as visiting neighboring villages unattended. During this time, the "Band of Hope" was formed complete with uniforms and instruments in which the boys would play at the school and in parades in the area villages. Two Baseball clubs were organized and uniforms were provided. One of the teams called the "Lyman", visiting several places in the state and playing with other clubs. A "Fire Company" was formed and uniforms were given to the boys who were admitted. The fire company would respond to alarms of fires outside of the institution's grounds. The fire company along with their horse-drawn, hand pumper, fire engine built by Hunneman Co of Boston would test their engine with the fire department in Westborough. A military company called "Lyman Cadets" was formed, composed of 60 boys completely furnished with uniforms, Springfield Rifles, a full set of accouterments and drilled in accordance with the
Upton's tactics. They would march in local parades and were seen at local fairs throughout the state.
Downsizing and staffing adjustments By 1880, there was a decrease in commitments by the courts, and an effort was made by the board of trustees for the boys' prompt release once they reach the Honor System. This began to decrease the number of boys house at the institution, and as a result sections of the institution were closed. The salaries of those employed were reduced and duties were consolidated in order to reduce the number of staff employed. By 1882, all boys and officers were removed from the new addition, built 5 years prior, and placed in the old building. In 1883, various committees visited the Institution to determine the best way to move forward with the reform school and to use the unoccupied buildings.
Improvements and facilities During this period a new coal shed located at the "State Farm Station" 100 feet long and 24 feet wide, allowing for the storage of coal from the railroad. This allowed coal to be stored and hauled 3/4 mile in Northborough rather than being 2.5 miles from Westborough. In 1878, the first
telegraph wire was erected from the institution to the office of Samuel M Griggs near the railroad depot in the center of Westborough.
Riot and judicial inquiry 1877 The 1877 riot On January 12, 1877 in the reformatory department, after eating supper and while still in the dining room, one of the inmates threw a bowl at a teacher and hit him in the head, creating a cut that bled profusely. Other boys joined in and before it was over, 97 bowls were thrown at officers. The boys all rushed into the yard, where they were soon collected, and the officers took them to the schoolrooms. The boys who had plotted the riot grabbed ice skates and attacked the officers in schoolrooms. At the same time, other boys turned off the gas lights, and in the darkness the officers escaped out the door. The boys then barricaded the doors and proceeded to use settees as battering rams on the barred windows. They destroyed all the desks and other furniture in the classrooms and were able to gain access to the roof. The superintendent summoned Edwin B. Harvey, a trustee from Westborough, and informed him of the riot and asked that he immediately ride over. The superintendent and the officers gathered a fire hose and sprayed water through any windows that the boys were throwing furniture out of. They also subdued the boys that had made their way to the roof in hopes of escape by spraying water on them as well. When Mr. Harvey arrived at the institution the riot was still in progress and the superintendent asked him to go to the Village of Westborough and gather men to help put down the uprising. After an hour, the trustee came back with 12 able men and they organized and dragged two fire hoses up the stairs and gained access to the schoolrooms. Once in the schoolroom they were able to subdue all the boys by spraying them with water. It was determined over the course of several days that 15 inmates were the main leaders of the riot. The following week these 15 inmates were transferred to Superior Court in Worcester to stand trial. Thirteen of these boys were convicted and sentenced to various terms in the House of Correction.
Legislative inquiry and reform Soon after the riot, several articles appeared in area newspapers, fueled by the disgruntled officer and inmates, detailing the riot and alleged abuses against the boys at the reform school. In March of that year, a committee was formed in the legislature to look into allegations of mismanagement and abusive at the reform school. The committee called as witnesses trustees, superintendents, and inmates of the institution. The committee focused on the allegations of abuse through the use of various forms of corporal punishment. Whipping upon the bare back of the boys by the officers with leather straps made in the shoe shop was a frequently used measure. Boys were held in the basement of the chapel in cells, where they were kept for days or even weeks with only rations of bread and water to eat and a cot to sleep on. There were two other forms of restraint that were called the straitjacket and the sweatbox. The straitjacket was made of leather with an attached gag to be put in the boy's mouth and the boy would be laid down until it was time to go to bed. If he did not submit, the treatment would be continued the next day. The sweatbox was a wooden box made in the woodworking shop that stood about six and a half feet tall and was just wide enough for a person to stand upright without being able to move. They would put an inmate in the box, standing up with their arms by their side with slits in the box in front of their faces to allow air to enter for breathing. They would stand in there unable to move until the end of the day. Spraying cold water from the fire hose on a boy was used as a way subdue him and hopefully modify his behavior. The results of the investigation by this committee were submitted to the legislature in a 900-page report on May 7. Based on this report, the legislature authorized the governor to appoint a new board of trustees, and they enacted laws regulating the use of corporal punishment in the reform school.
Continued expansion amidst challenges: 1877 enlargement In 1875 the legislature passed an appropriation of $90,000 for an addition to the school as a Correctional Department. The addition was built mainly upon the foundations of the part burned in 1859, though the arrangement of the rooms differs greatly. Plans and estimates were presented by Messrs. Cutting and Holman of Worcester; and these plans, after careful study by the Trustees, were submitted to a committee of the council, and, meeting with their approval, the work was started in August of 1875. The work was done by divided contract, proposals requested for the different parts, the brick-work, the lumber, the stone and the iron. A large number of the inmates were selected for this outside work. Some for excavating the foundations, some for assisting the masons, others to help in the moving of the Garden House built some 17 years earlier. The removal of the Garden House was necessary because it stood upon ground to be occupied by the enlargement, and could not readily be made a part of it. When completed, the addition would have two large schoolrooms, sleeping halls and a dining room for about 200 boys. It would also have workshops, cells for solitary confinement, a hospital and room for the officers. Once the new addition was completed and occupied in April 1877 a series of mechanical trades were introduced including sleigh making, blacksmithing, painting, and woodworking, including making handcarts, wheelbarrows and hand sleds. With this new addition, the older incorrigible boys were able to be completely segregated from the other boys. They had separate school-rooms, separate dining-rooms, sleeping rooms, and workshops, and their playground was separated from the reformatory department boys by a building two stories high and thirty-eight feet wide. They will only see the reformatory department boys on the Sabbath in the chapel, when the reformatory department boys occupy the gallery, the correctional department boys the floor. With this new addition the trustees created the reformatory branch (old building), correctional branch (new addition), trust branch (3 trust houses) and hospital branch (both hospitals). In 1879 the trustees thought it wise to renamed the correctional department to the Industrial department. The term "Industrial department" would be used throughout the state institutions.
Temporary relocation: Bridgewater Workhouse (1883–1885) Originally the buildings at Bridgewater were occupied as a State Almshouse from (1854–1872); but the need of classifying the State poor led to the establishment of a State Workhouse in 1866–1887.
Proposed Conversion of State Reform School into a Homeopathic insane hospital (1883) The movement for a state homeopathic hospital for the insane originated within the homeopathic medical societies. Dr. Samuel Worcester of Salem, who had served as an assistant physician at Butler Hospital in Providence from 1867 to 1869, is credited with being the first to publicly propose the acquisition of such a state institution during a meeting. While the entire homeopathic profession supported this endeavor, the leading figure in this, as in many other successful homeopathic initiatives, was Dr. I. Tisdale Talbot of Boston. Initial efforts by Dr. Talbot and his associates to secure legislative approval for a new location and construct new buildings proved unsuccessful. However, a potential opportunity arose from an unexpected quarter. Attention soon turned to the State Reform School at Westborough leading to discussions about its potential conversion or transfer. In his 1883 report to the State Board of Health, Lunacy and Charity, Mr. F. B. Sanborn, then Inspector of Charities, made a crucial recommendation: "The State should make provision at Westborough or elsewhere for the reception and treatment of at least 300 of the chronic insane who now crowd our hospitals." Dr. Talbot and his colleagues in the State Society immediately recognized the strategic value of Sanborn's recommendation and its influential source. They swiftly petitioned the Massachusetts Legislature (General Court) for a grant of the Westborough property for their use. Crucially, they agreed to accept the "old and unsuitable institution" and committed to the formidable task of transforming its buildings from a "prison into a hospital." Mr. Sanborn continued to advocate for the use of the Westborough facility as an asylum, particularly for the chronic insane. The homoeopathic community, however, opposed the limitation of patients solely to those deemed incurable. They sought equality with other state institutions and petitioned for a comprehensive hospital where patients from any part of the state, suffering from any form of mental disorder, could receive their preferred medical treatment.
Proposed relocation of the State Reform School to Lancaster (1884) A popular suggestion was to relocate the younger boys from the reform school in Westborough, to the State-owned farm and buildings of the Industrial School for Girls in Lancaster built in 1859 which does not fill the buildings. By transferring the girls in Lancaster to Monson or elsewhere, the Lancaster buildings could at once be occupied by the younger boys now at Westborough, who could be employed, as soon as spring opens, in cultivating the farm there. The number of such boys would be less than one hundred, and they could be lodged in the four family houses now standing at Lancaster. For one family of these boys the present workshop at Lancaster could be used; and two other detached workshops in convenient localities could be fitted up, in buildings now standing, for a small sum. The Lancaster buildings already contain school-rooms, dining rooms, a chapel, etc., large enough for the boys who should be sent there. If it should be found necessary hereafter to extend the Lancaster buildings so as to receive more than one hundred boys of the age suitable for a reform school, there is enough land for any reasonable extension, and for the farm and garden work of the pupils, even should their number reach two hundred. The plan aimed to reduce expenses, optimize existing state properties, and improve the segregation of younger and older inmates within the state's reformatory system.
Proposed Relocation of State Reform School (1885) The governor and trustees thought it would be economical to rebuild on remaining land, or to purchase other land adjoining the state reform school.
Relocation and the Establishment of the Lyman School (1884) On June 3, 1884, through Chapter 322 of the Acts, the Massachusetts Legislature formally established a state hospital for the care and treatment of the insane in Westborough. This new institution was unique in its mandate to operate upon the principles of homeopathic medicine. The act specifically directed that the existing buildings of the State Reform School, which had occupied the site for decades, should be remodeled and repurposed to accommodate 325 patients for the new hospital. The board of trustees for this new hospital was appointed during the summer of 1884, holding their inaugural meeting on August 5th. However, it was not until September 9th that all members were officially appointed and confirmed, allowing them to fully commence their duties. Amidst the plans for the new hospital, a significant change occurred for the reform school itself. On September 31, 1884, the State Reform School was officially renamed the Lyman School for Boys. This renaming was a symbolic shift, perhaps anticipating its eventual relocation and a renewed focus on its mission. As the new hospital's trustees moved forward with their mandate, pressure mounted for the Lyman School to vacate its premises. Conferences and communications between the Hospital Trustees and the School Trustees took place on February 3rd, 10th, and 24th, and March 3rd, 1885. The Hospital Trustees emphasized the critical need for complete possession of the main building at Westborough before the first of April 1885 to properly fulfill their duties to the Commonwealth. This urgency spurred the School Trustees into action to find suitable alternative accommodations for the boys. On March 20, 1885, the School Trustees were authorized to "lease and prepare the land and buildings known as Willow Park" to house boys who could no longer be accommodated in the Westborough buildings. Soon after, on April 9, 1885, the Trustees were authorized to purchase the Bela J. Stone farm adjacent to Willow Park . This acquisition was intended to provide more permanent housing solutions, with a larger building planned for 30 to 40 boys (and the Superintendent's residence), and a smaller building for another family of 30 boys on 93 acres of land. These new structures were anticipated to be completed around April 1, 1886 The main building of the Lyman School, formally State Reform School, was formally vacated in April 1885. This marked a significant milestone in the transfer of the property to the new hospital. Evidence of this swift transition includes the sale of school desks, which had been appraised at $5.00 each in September 1881, for a mere 25 cents each at a public auction in April 1885, with several dealers present. With the main building cleared, reconstruction efforts for the new Westborough State Hospital commenced on May 18, 1885. Despite the main building being vacated, some boys remained on the Westborough grounds. By September 30, 1885, there were 94 boys still in trust houses. The Lyman School fully vacated the boiler house in October 1885. The farm land was officially turned over to the Trustees of the hospital in November 1885. The "Peter's trust house," along with Mr. and Mrs. Howard, relocated to the Willow House in November 1885, further consolidating the Lyman School's move.
The Lyman School for Boys: a new era in Westborough (1886) By late 1886, the Lyman School for Boys had largely completed its relocation to a new site in Westborough, Massachusetts. This move marked a significant shift in the institution's operations and capacity, as its former buildings were simultaneously converted into the Westborough Insane Hospital.
The new establishment Situated less than a mile from its previous location, the new Lyman School occupied a smaller farm, designed to accommodate a significantly reduced number of pupils. The facility could comfortably house approximately 100 boys, a stark contrast to the larger capacity of the old buildings. During the preceding year, the pupil count rarely exceeded 100, often dropping as low as 83, with an average of about 93—the smallest number ever reported for the school. The total cost of the new establishment was considerable, with the nearly completed buildings amounting to roughly $68,000. When combined with the price of the new farm, the aggregate cost surpassed $80,000. Approximately $10,000 of this was drawn from the Lyman Fund, a legacy from the school's founder, Theodore Lyman, which held an approximate market value of $52,000 in securities at the time. The new farm, encompassing nearly 100 acres, was valued at $13,900 without the new structures. The valuation of the farm and buildings, excluding the unfinished chapel, stood at nearly $73,000. Once completed, the chapel was expected to increase the total valuation to over $76,000. Including personal estate valued at $25,555, the total worth of the new facility's buildings, furniture, and land approached $100,000, equating to roughly $1,000 per pupil for the 100-boy capacity. The overall market value of all funds belonging to the Lyman School was approximately $55,000, with only the income from these funds typically used for the school's annual expenses.
Financials and operations For the year ending October 1, 1886, the actual monetary outlay for the Lyman School was $28,412. After deducting over $2,000 in earnings from labor and other sources, the net cost was approximately $26,360. Further subtracting expenditures on farm buildings and improvements, the true net cost of operating the school was around $24,000 for an average of 93 boys, translating to about $5 per week per boy. This sum was considered substantial, with expectations for future reductions through decreased outlays and increased income from student labor. Despite the initial expenditure, the new establishment was projected to reduce the absolute cost of running the school by at least $5,000 annually compared to the old farm. This made the $75,000 investment in the new facility more economically viable for the State than continuing operations at the old site, which was estimated to be worth approximately $100,000 to the newly occupying Westborough Insane Hospital.
Impact of the relocation and reforms The move was deemed essential, as the old establishment had become a burden on the school, ill-suited for the smaller number of pupils it had supported in recent years. A change in the age of pupils, enacted two years prior, had successfully made the school more manageable. Operations were now more strictly aligned with a "family system." While an increase in pupil numbers was anticipated, it was expected that these younger and "less depraved" boys would be more easily placed in families, ideally keeping the average number in the school buildings at or below 100 for optimal economic results. It was also considered expedient to potentially transfer some boys from
Monson, who had been court-committed, to the Lyman School. As of October 1, the number of boys at Monson (93) exceeded those at Lyman, though Lyman's numbers had since risen to 106. During the twelve months ending October 1, the Lyman School served a total of 170 different boys, with an average of 93. Their primary occupations included farm work and other outdoor labor, though new buildings were equipped with shops for mechanical tasks. Sixty new commitments were received during the year, alongside nearly 20 boys who had returned after previous stays. Also, 60 boys were successfully placed with families or returned to their homes. The year saw very little sickness and no deaths among the pupils.
Trustee's comment of 1934 "It is probable that, in the coming half-century, one form after another will yield to the knowledge gained by the thousands of research workers; and we venture to hope that the growth of institutions for the insane will be checked, and that the buildings and ground may be used for other and pleasanter purposes". The Westborough State Hospital closed in 2010. == Bird's-eye view and layout of the institution ==