Worcester State Hospital

In 1833, Worcester State Hospital was the first public asylum established in Massachusetts, and Dr. Samuel B. Woodward was the first superintendent, who later served as APA's first president. Also known as the Worcester Lunatic Asylum and the Bloomingdale Asylum.

Over the years, the patient population grew so much that the hospital was forced to expand. In 1869, the construction of a new hospital designed by architect Ward P. Delano in a typical Kirkbride Plan layout was built on a larger site remote from the city, which seven years later provided care to 400 patients.