Welcome to the Boston Insane Hospital (later to be taken over by the state and renamed Boston State Hospital). The property was initially purchased from the Austin family and the Pierce Family in 1882 and 1884 respectively it maintained its pastorial character as part of the mental health facility continued to be a working farm run by the patients and residents of the hospital. As promised in episode 1 of Baker's Boston here are some photos of the working farm in the late 1800s.
The Boston State Hospital landscape changed over the years as the patient population expanded and decreased. There are three buildings that are still standing from the early days of expansion in the 1930s. You can visit what used to be the three "officers cottages" and are now an education building, home to the groundskeeper of the wildlife refuge, and the Boston Nature Center's (BNC) preschool.
If you visit the BNC keep an eye out for the wild turkeys that hang out on fences behind the George Robert While Environmental Conservation Center. Children can also pretend to be wild turkeys and build a nest in the Nature Nook, one of the only nature play spaces in the Boston area.
If you are interested in going on your own adventure at the BNC, visit their website for details hours and directions:
http://www.massaudubon.org/Nature_Connection/Sanctuaries/Boston/index.php
