Hello, Sometimes I join a genealogy "Group" and then forget I have joined it. * This morning I received a message from the "State Hospitals" Group at Yahoo. It offered information on the Northampton State Hospital, and I thought a few people would be interested in what it says. This is the first part of a recent newspaper article about it. If anyone wants the rest of the article, let me know. Or, perhaps the "Springfield Republican" is on-line. See below. FYI: http://www.1856.org/ http://www.northamptonma.gov/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northampton,_Massachusetts http://www.historic-northampton.org/ Betty (near Lowell, MA) FYI: The Springfield Republican Progress visible at hospital site Sunday, February 15, 2009 By FRED CONTRADA fcontrada@repub.com NORTHAMPTON - As in recent years, Northampton is pinning its hopes for the economic future on a tract of land that was known in its hey-day as the home of the Northampton Lunatic Hospital. The facility, which eventually changed its name to Northampton State Hospital, has been closed since the early 1990s. After a long struggle to wrest control of the land from the state, the city has slowly and painstakingly been working to realize its vision of a village of new commercial, industrial and residential space on the land formerly known as Hospital Hill. With the Massachusetts Development Finance Agency, a quasi-public agency, at the helm, the one-time hospital campus has undergone a complete makeover. Most of the buildings, including the iconic "Old Main" that served as the chief administration building, have been demolished and their rubble carted away. Traces of the hospital have even been excised from the name of the project, which is now called Village Hill Northampton. .............................. * Just a reminder that anyone can start up a "Group" or can join one. They are on genealogy, history, and many other subjects.