Tewksbury Hospital is a National Register of Historic Places-listed site located on an 800+ acre campus in Tewksbury, Massachusetts. The centerpiece of the hospital campus is the 1894 Richard Morris Building ("Old Administration Building").The Massachusetts Department of Public Health currently operates a Joint Commission accredited, 350-bed facility at Tewksbury Hospital, providing both medical and psychiatric services to challenging adult patients with chronic conditions. The Public Health Museum in Massachusetts now occupies the Richard Morris Building. In addition to the hospital and museum, the Tewksbury Hospital campus also hosts eight residential substance abuse programs, serving up to 275 patients. Five Massachusetts state agencies also have regional offices at Tewksbury, including the Massachusetts Department of Mental Health and the Massachusetts Department of Public Safety. The campus also hosts several non-profit and for-profit private entities, including the Lahey Health Behaviorial Services' Tewksbury Treatment Center, the Lowell House's Sheehan Women's Program, the Lowell House Recovery Home, the Middlesex Human Service Agency, and the Strongwater Farm Therapeutic Equestrian Center.HistoryAlmshouseAuthorized by an act of Massachusetts General Court in 1852, Tewksbury Hospital was originally established as an Tewksbury Almshouse (along with similar facilities in Monson and Bridgewater), opening in May 1854, under its first superintendent, Isaac H. Meserve. The original Tewksbury campus consisted of "large wooden buildings were badly designed, poorly constructed firetraps". Upon opening, paupers from across the state were sent to Tewksbury and its two companion facilities, rapidly overwhelming the facilities. Within three weeks, Tewksbury had a population of over 800, well over its intended capacity of 500. By the end of 1854, a total of 2,193 people had been admitted.
