Westboro Insane Hospital Crematorium Traditional Geocache
Westboro Insane Hospital Crematorium
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(regular)
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This location was the site of the the 2006 Halloween Mystery cache by maskvolk. The structure you will find are the remains of the Westboro Insane Hospital Crematorium. The cache is not inside the crematorium itself, and it may be dangerous to go down there.
On the recent topographical maps, it is identified as the “Westborough State Hospital” complex. It consists of a number of buildings, some abandoned, some still in use, dating back to the early 1900s (one is dated 1898). But the true nature of these edifices is best revealed in the Quinsigimond topographical map of 1908 (visit link) where it is labelled the “Westboro Insane Hospital”. Although any of these buildings warrant a horror legend behind it, the true terror lies in a structure somewhat removed from the main campus – probably to keep its nature a secret. That building is a crematorium, whose purpose must have been to dispose of the numerous patients that died behind these walls. And, on each All Hallowed’s Eve, do their souls scream out from where it all ended – from where they were given the most pauperish burial of all? On October 27th, 2006 at 8 pm, a number of brave geocachers visited the site to answer that question. Why don’t you come see for yourself?
Parking is available at N42° 17.920 W71° 36.680. Please be sure not to block anyone in. Please follow these directions if entering the complex at night, as it is hard to see the roads in the dark. Travelling north on Lyman street, take a left onto Hospital Road at the sign for the Westboro State Hospital. Take the left at the sign that says to Chauncy Ballfields. Take the next left onto a dirt road, and bear right past the road that says Hospital Personnel Only No Tresspassing. You should be next to the Pond – do not take the next right, but continue on that dirt road until you reach a cul-de-sac/parking area.
The hike in is about 1 kilometer over mainly level ground on established trails. It should be a fun night hike with a headlamp or flashlight. A guide to the trails is at: (visit link)
There are some areas of rubble around this structure that may be tricky to walk on, so please limit your searching to the trail and walkway areas.
The cache was initially stocked with kids Halloween goodies.
Brought to you by the Halloween Geocache team of maskvolk.
A little more information that I recently discovered:
(visit link)
Thank you for this article. I particularly appreciated the photo of the person laying a flower on the gravesite, and the closeup of the person uncovering a remnant. The only comment I would make is that families did not simply leave their loved ones at Westborough or any other state institution. They were most often advised to do so by doctors, and as they were almost always families in poverty they most often did not have the resources that the rich had at their disposal in order to visit them. Thus, they did not abandon them. This happened to families of people who had developmental delays too. The problem with less than family friendly policies and practices towards people diagnosed with mental illness goes on today. This can be seen in the decision of the Department of Mental Health’s decision to close local state hospital beds while building a largely family inaccessible ‘state of the art’ 360 bed institution in Worcester, MA., for example. Also, it is my understanding (from Glenn Malloy) that ‘pragmatic’ practice at Westborough State Hospital consisted of burning of bodies in the crematorium on the hospital’s grounds, which were sent with a numbered brick, not a stone for ‘burial’ at the cemetery.
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Gurer fubhyq or yrff cbvfba vil ba gur abegu fvqr bs gur snyyra gerr. Gur pnpur pbagnvare pna or npprffrq sebz gurer.