National Register of Historic Places

Lancaster Industrial School for Girls

Lancaster, Worcester County, Massachusetts
Listed
October 7, 1976
Type
District
Period
Industrial
Ref No.
76000301

About this property

The Lancaster Industrial School for Girls was a reform school on Old Common Road in Lancaster, Massachusetts. It was the country's first state reform school for girls, opening on August 26, 1856. The facility provided its charges with separate rooms, arranged in three-story cottages with kitchen, dining, and other public facilities on the ground floor, rooms for the girls and a housemother on the second, and space for teachers on the third floor. This school paved the way of social reform, moving away from child imprisonment towards a correctional paradigm. This was in part achieved because of the observed benefits of environmental change in children, as well as the importance of education plus the added pressures of having to deal with the rise in child delinquency brought by social changes of the industrial age. After its closure in 1975, it was redeveloped into Massachusetts Correctional Institution - Lancaster. The campus was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1976.

Location

Lancaster, Worcester County, Massachusetts
42.44300, -71.65697

Categories

EDUCATIONARCHITECTURESOCIAL HISTORY
National Register nomination ›
Sources

Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).

Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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Nearby Historic Sites

Atherton Bridge
Industrial
0.8 mi
Old Settlers' Burying Ground
Listed
0.9 mi
Middle Cemetery
Listed
1 mi
Thayer, Nathaniel, Estate
Industrial
1.2 mi
First Church of Christ, Lancaster
Industrial
1.2 mi

Nearby Battles

Attack on Lancaster
1676Colonial
0.7 mi
First Lancaster Raid
1675Colonial
1.3 mi
Attack on Lancaster 1676
1676Colonial
1.5 mi

Questions about this property

When was Lancaster Industrial School for Girls listed on the National Register?

Lancaster Industrial School for Girls was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on October 7, 1976.

What type of historic resource is Lancaster Industrial School for Girls?

Lancaster Industrial School for Girls is classified as a district in the National Register of Historic Places.

What is the period of significance for Lancaster Industrial School for Girls?

The period of significance for Lancaster Industrial School for Girls is recorded as the industrial era.

Can I research the history near Lancaster Industrial School for Girls?

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