Public Health Museum Tour
Saturday, July 19, 2025
Outdoor: Tewksbury Hospital Grounds 9:30-10:30am
Indoor: Public Health Museum 10:30-Noon
Embedded Files
297-321 East St
297-321 East St
Tewksbury, MA 01876
978-851-7321
Indoor Tour
Indoor Tour
The Public Health Museum opened in September 1994 in a 100-year-old administrative building on the campus of Tewksbury Hospital as the first bricks and mortar public health museum. Its mission is to celebrate the history and achievements of public health. The exhibits present public health through a historic lens. There is extensive coverage of infectious diseases and the triumphs associated with vaccines and sanitation, as well as recognition of mental health as part of public health, the role of nurses and more. The museum also preserves a library and archives related to public health.
The Public Health Museum opened in September 1994 in a 100-year-old administrative building on the campus of Tewksbury Hospital as the first bricks and mortar public health museum. Its mission is to celebrate the history and achievements of public health. The exhibits present public health through a historic lens. There is extensive coverage of infectious diseases and the triumphs associated with vaccines and sanitation, as well as recognition of mental health as part of public health, the role of nurses and more. The museum also preserves a library and archives related to public health.
Outdoor Tour
Outdoor Tour
What is now Tewksbury Hospital opened as the Tewksbury Almshouse in 1854 to take pressure off the municipal poor houses and farms that served as a safety net for those who were unable to work in the factories of the burgeoning Industrial Revolution or on the farms that fed the population. It expanded over time, serving the needs of those with physical or mental health disabilities who had no social
What is now Tewksbury Hospital opened as the Tewksbury Almshouse in 1854 to take pressure off the municipal poor houses and farms that served as a safety net for those who were unable to work in the factories of the burgeoning Industrial Revolution or on the farms that fed the population. It expanded over time, serving the needs of those with physical or mental health disabilities who had no social
support to remain in the general community. Over the years, the campus expanded with a farm, maternity hospital, asylums for the mentally ill, a children’s building, sanitoria for treatment of tuberculosis and dormitories for nursing staff, other staff and nursing students. Many of the late 19 th and early 20 th Century buildings remain as examples of the architecture of their time and theories of therapeutic design. In 1968, a new, modern hospital building opened and Tewksbury Hospital continues to serve a patient population with few options in medical or psychiatric care elsewhere as a long-term acute facility. The tour visits the existing buildings and provides information on their history and function.
support to remain in the general community. Over the years, the campus expanded with a farm, maternity hospital, asylums for the mentally ill, a children’s building, sanitoria for treatment of tuberculosis and dormitories for nursing staff, other staff and nursing students. Many of the late 19 th and early 20 th Century buildings remain as examples of the architecture of their time and theories of therapeutic design. In 1968, a new, modern hospital building opened and Tewksbury Hospital continues to serve a patient population with few options in medical or psychiatric care elsewhere as a long-term acute facility. The tour visits the existing buildings and provides information on their history and function.
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