The Superintendent's Office

This large central room was used as the office for the superintendent of Tewksbury Hospital. On the immediate right is a typical circa 1894 fireplace used at that time as the main heat source. No one knows for sure who is depicted in the 1927 portrait above the fireplace; conjecture is that it may be a former superintendent or trustee. The clock was made by the Howard Clock Company of Boston and has a patent date of 1876. It was programmed to ring at different times during the day and throughout the hospital to signal opening or closing times.

Central to this room is the large superintendent's desk; this particular desk was made at Lakeville Hospital in its carpentry shop, as were the bookcases standing beside the desk. In some institutions the patients engaged in occupational therapy by working in the carpentry shops and would have made such things as chairs, picture frames, or clothes hangers. The daily registers on top of the desk record a sample of the issues the superintendent addressed each day. The Commonwealth of Massachusetts flag in the corner behind the desk was the last flag to fly over Rutland Heights Hospital before it closed around 1990. Rutland was the first tuberculosis hospital in the United States and later became a chronic disease hospital when tuberculosis hospitals were no longer needed. The panel displays in the middle of the room show early 20th century pictures of Tewksbury Hospital and its patients. Other panels depict public health programs, historical events and polio treatment.

As we move through the Superintendent's office toward the rear wall, we see on either side of the door some built-in display cases. These cases are used by the museum to house various temporary exhibits as well as some items that need special protection. Currently a collection of patent medicine bottles is on display. Above these cases there is displayed a rare collection of mental health posters from the 1920's and 30's, donated by Dr. Steven Nisenbaum.