Massachusetts Hospital School, ca. 1910 (Dan Keleher Collection)

Massachusetts Hospital School¹ 

The Massachusetts Hospital School (MHS) was created in 1904 by an act of the state legislature with the support of Dr. Edward H. Bradford who sought to improve the education and services to children with disabilities. The facility opened in 1907 under the supervision of Dr. John E. Fish and admitted its first students in 1908 with 104 children. The facility expanded in 1920 with the purchase of 100.12 acres of land that assisted in the construction of a new school house in 1927. In 1946 John Fish retires and is replaced by Dr. Donald Gates as superintendent. Since that time MHS has expanded its services, enrolling day students in 1969, in 1984 the Dr. Paul Norton Medical Library opens, and the instillation of wheelchair access track in 1993. The school celebrated its centennial in 2007.

Resources¹ 

 Canton: Postcard History Series, by George T. Comeau (Call No. 974.4 C) 

 Massachusetts Hospital School, "Our Mission and History," http://www.mhsf.us/about-us/mission-and-history