Lyman School for Boys at Westborough 1885-1971 LYMAN WATER & SEWER In 1900 the superintendent of the Lyman School as well as the school physician called for the installation of a standpipe (water tower) and filtering system to supply drinking water for the cottages on the hill and to provide for a sewer system hooked up with the town systems for health reasons. Since opening in 1885 water from Lake Chauncy and on-sit wells supplied the schools water. While the sewer waste situation had become deplorable as raw sewerage was flowing through the vegetables gardens, along the roadways, polluting the air and eventually contaminating Lake Chauncy. As Lake Chauncy was the primary water source for the school and the hospital for human consumption the unsanitary water and the ice harvested for refrigeration became a serious health issue. Photo 1…Chauncy Ice Storage Lake Chauncy ice houses were built for ice block storage in the pre-refrigeration era. Chauncy ice was used by Lyman School and the State Hospital and supplied to residential customers throughout Westborough by Mason Taft and the Chauncy Ice Co. State Board of Health officials investigated and found the water draining into Chauncy from the Lyman School was “badly polluted”. Cesspools had failed and inadequate filtration systems were allowing unfiltered lake water to be pumped directly into Lyman and the hospital facilities. Residents, employees, patients and Lyman boys were exposed to Typhoid fever and related health concerns. Then in 1901 the school officials with the support of the Massachusetts Board of Health petitioned the town to allow the school to be connected to the town’s water supply. However, it wasn’t until 1907 that the school installed a waist management system that was connected with the town sewer system. Photo 2… Lyman Farm Buildings and Water Tower… It was not until 1939 that a 150 foot tall, 150,000-gallon water tank was constructed at the top of the Powder Hill. The tank was fed by water from the town reservoir then gravity feed to the school. The water was warmed in the winter by the schools underground piping systems. Photo 3, LYMAN HOSPITAL A new hospital building was opened in 1905 and was located between the Administration Building and the Maples Cottage. In 1920 there was a pressing need for a new infirmary building to take the place of the old building. Photo 4, INFIRMARY The new infirmary was located in the Hospital – A local doctor and dentist would make visits several times a week to examine and treat any boys that were sick or injured. If they were unable to satisfactorily treat a boy they were put on a Boston &Worcester Trolley and sent to Massachusetts General Hospital or the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary in Boston. The treatment the boys received at Lyman was far better and more frequent than what they had experienced before coming to Lyman. This building was razed in 2000 to make room for a new rehabilitation facility. My research of Lyman did not reveal any boy to die as a result of disciplinary actions, employee abuse or otherwise taken against him other than the 1910 suicide. Boys that were seriously ill or injured at the school were immediately hospitalized and were either returned to the school upon full recovery or died in a hospital situation. Boys that died while at Lyman were returned to their family or next of kin for burial. Glenn R. Parker
Posted on: Sat, 15 Mar 2014 17:32:11 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015