Payment Details

Payment must be made in person at the time of pick-up by bank check payable to "City of Northampton."

Item Description

Two spoons from the former state hospital in Northampton, MA. Larger spoon marked "Dept. of Mental Health," Smaller marked "Department of Mental Health"  Both stamped "World Stainless U.S.A." on back, stamping on smaller spoon is blurry

Local pick-up only.  

Item must be picked up within 30-days of auction close.  Item may be picked-up M-F, 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM, Northampton Office of Planning and Sustainability, 210 Main Street, Northampton MA

Sold in “as-is” condition.  Larger spoon is bent.

In 1855, a state commission on the treatment of the mentally ill selected Northampton as the site for the state’s third “lunatic hospital.”  The state purchased 176 acres on a hill west of downtown, and the cornerstone was laid on July 4, 1856.  Intended to house 250 patients, Architect Jonathan Preston’s facility was designed on the Kirkbride Plan, in which activities were separated and no large structures were used.  The hospital included a large working farm, which was an important part of the hospital’s treatment programs and economy.  The hospital filled rapidly, even before construction was complete, and the facility’s size and amenities were expanded several times in the early 1900s, reaching a peak of 2,500 patients and 500 staff in the 1950’s.  With the rise of psychotropic drugs, patient numbers began decreasing in the 1960’s.  At the same time, the Commonwealth, propelled by litigation, moved toward alternative community-based treatments for mental illness, and away from institutionalization.  The Department of Mental Health began transferring surplus property in the 1970’s, and in 1994, the hospital’s last 12 patients were reassigned and the facility closed.   Nearly all of the buildings on the hospital’s main campus have been demolished, and the site redeveloped as Village Hill, a mixed-use community.

All proceeds from the sale of Northampton State Hospital items will go towards restoration of a fountain from the hospital grounds, and creation of a park on the site of the fountain’s original location. The funds will also be used to memorialize the patients and staff of the former hospital, and the hospital’s importance to the history of Northampton.

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Item location This location is a general area based on the sellers zip code. It is not the specific address where the item is located.