Paranormal Lakeville Hospital 1908-1992 Mystery
Is the former hospital haunted? There are numerous reports of child-like faces appearing in the windows, voices of children have been heard as well as child laughing. Strange lights and moan and the sounds of people in distress have been heard in the basement area of the building.
The Lakeville Hospital property was once the Doggett Farm. Sixty four (64) acres of the farm, including the Doggett farmhouse, were purchased from Lakeville Selectman Fred A. Shockley who owned the property in conjunction with A. Davis Ashley of New Bedford. To Shockley, the buyer presented the idea he was buying the place to construct a massive country residence. There was little negotiation over the price. The purchase was made on September 1 1908, at which time an additional ten (10) acres on Rhode Island Road which adjoined the rear of the Doggett Farm were bought from Frances King of Middleborough. The buyer immediately conveyed the property to the Commonwealth that same day, and it was shortly following this that the state's proposed use for the property became common knowledge, creating considerable indignation among Lakeville residents, as they had opposed the plan for a sanatorium in the town.
The Lakeville Hospital began as a Tubercular (TB) Sanatorium in 1908 and 1909. On January 6 1910 the sanatorium opened its doors with 150-patients. On January 19 1910 the first male patient was admitted and on February 22 1910 the first female patient was admitted.
In 1949 the hospital began to accept patients with other chronic diseases. On September 25 1963 Lakeville State Sanatorium was renamed Lakeville Hospital, subsequently the hospital began to accept mentally ill patients due to overcrowding in other State Hospitals. Due to rising costs and declining hospital populations Lakeville Hospital closed in 1992.
Doctor's House
The white Colonial house, constructed in 1926, in front of the former Lakeville Hospital has been vacant for many years and it's been available for free – it just has to be moved off the property. It was simply known as “The Doctor’s House”. Since the hospitals closing in 1992 the house has fallen into severe disrepair. A suspicious fire in 2008 caused extensive damage to the rear entrance, kitchen and hallway of the home.
In 2017 the two-story, wood shingled, Colonial started to get fixed up and painted. The rehabilitation quickly ended.
Property Status Update: Oct 2019
Five (5) of the eight (8) parcels of Lakeville Hospital land off Main Street have been conveyed to new owners after a recent auction and several entities are negotiating to finalize the sale of the two (2) key parcels. The key parcels is 12.09 acre lot on Main Street where the main hospital building sits, and a 17.56 acre parcel where the multi-story former nurses dormitory and other support buildings are located. Local businessman Derek Maksy announced last year his plans for redeveloping the eight parcels, but the only development done by his company, Lakeville Mixed Use Development, LLC, was some house lots sold along the Rhode Island Road frontage.
Property Status Update: March 2021
Town committees and boards inch closer towards anticipated approval votes on plans for the proposed redevelopment of the Lakeville Hospital campus as a warehouse or distribution center, resident opposition to the plans continues to grow.
Rhino Capital LLC is proposing to tear down all seven existing buildings in the hospital complex and build a 402,500 square foot one-story building to be leased to one or two tenants. According to submitted plans, the new building would be 45 feet high, sited just over 400 feet from Main Street, and fringed with 128 loading docks for tractor trailer truck deliveries and shipments.
This is the third proposal for redevelopment of the long vacant property in recent decades was the town’s best option for removing existing environmental threats to the community, cleaning up and re-purposing a key site that has been vacant for 30 years, and preventing less desirable development such as a large scale, dense residential development that would strain schools and town services.
The site requires extensive environmental cleanup, which is estimated would cost about $10 million. Holes in windows and roofs of existing buildings are stirring up “massive amounts of friable asbestos” fallen from ceilings and sending the hazardous materials outdoors.
The state Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) has ordered all the buildings closed up, and prohibited any entry without hazardous material protective gear. It is impossible to board up the buildings because of the widespread collapse of structural elements, including roofs, doors and windows. The seven-story dormitory building, the largest on site, is structurally unsound and no one is allowed to enter. DEP inspectors don't enter because of the unsafe conditions.
Tests on the one-acre landfill site on the northeast portion of the property have shown high levels of lead, arsenic, and asbestos in the trash, appliances, medical waste, and building and demolition materials dumped there between the 1950s and 1970s. The thousands of yards of waste includes vials and other hospital materials whose contents cannot be identified, and could eventually leach into the surrounding soil and groundwater.
Town residents and officials criticized current property owner Derek Maksy for not participating in discussions of redevelopment issues, not complying with DEP orders to secure the buildings and prevent asbestos dust from escaping, and not start the promised clean-up of the landfill site.
Is the former hospital haunted? There are numerous reports of child-like faces appearing in the windows, voices of children have been heard as well as child laughing. Strange lights and moan and the sounds of people in distress have been heard in the basement area of the building.
The Lakeville Hospital property was once the Doggett Farm. Sixty four (64) acres of the farm, including the Doggett farmhouse, were purchased from Lakeville Selectman Fred A. Shockley who owned the property in conjunction with A. Davis Ashley of New Bedford. To Shockley, the buyer presented the idea he was buying the place to construct a massive country residence. There was little negotiation over the price. The purchase was made on September 1 1908, at which time an additional ten (10) acres on Rhode Island Road which adjoined the rear of the Doggett Farm were bought from Frances King of Middleborough. The buyer immediately conveyed the property to the Commonwealth that same day, and it was shortly following this that the state's proposed use for the property became common knowledge, creating considerable indignation among Lakeville residents, as they had opposed the plan for a sanatorium in the town.
The Lakeville Hospital began as a Tubercular (TB) Sanatorium in 1908 and 1909. On January 6 1910 the sanatorium opened its doors with 150-patients. On January 19 1910 the first male patient was admitted and on February 22 1910 the first female patient was admitted.
In 1949 the hospital began to accept patients with other chronic diseases. On September 25 1963 Lakeville State Sanatorium was renamed Lakeville Hospital, subsequently the hospital began to accept mentally ill patients due to overcrowding in other State Hospitals. Due to rising costs and declining hospital populations Lakeville Hospital closed in 1992.
Doctor's House
The white Colonial house, constructed in 1926, in front of the former Lakeville Hospital has been vacant for many years and it's been available for free – it just has to be moved off the property. It was simply known as “The Doctor’s House”. Since the hospitals closing in 1992 the house has fallen into severe disrepair. A suspicious fire in 2008 caused extensive damage to the rear entrance, kitchen and hallway of the home.
In 2017 the two-story, wood shingled, Colonial started to get fixed up and painted. The rehabilitation quickly ended.
Property Status Update: Oct 2019
Five (5) of the eight (8) parcels of Lakeville Hospital land off Main Street have been conveyed to new owners after a recent auction and several entities are negotiating to finalize the sale of the two (2) key parcels. The key parcels is 12.09 acre lot on Main Street where the main hospital building sits, and a 17.56 acre parcel where the multi-story former nurses dormitory and other support buildings are located. Local businessman Derek Maksy announced last year his plans for redeveloping the eight parcels, but the only development done by his company, Lakeville Mixed Use Development, LLC, was some house lots sold along the Rhode Island Road frontage.
Property Status Update: March 2021
Town committees and boards inch closer towards anticipated approval votes on plans for the proposed redevelopment of the Lakeville Hospital campus as a warehouse or distribution center, resident opposition to the plans continues to grow.
Rhino Capital LLC is proposing to tear down all seven existing buildings in the hospital complex and build a 402,500 square foot one-story building to be leased to one or two tenants. According to submitted plans, the new building would be 45 feet high, sited just over 400 feet from Main Street, and fringed with 128 loading docks for tractor trailer truck deliveries and shipments.
This is the third proposal for redevelopment of the long vacant property in recent decades was the town’s best option for removing existing environmental threats to the community, cleaning up and re-purposing a key site that has been vacant for 30 years, and preventing less desirable development such as a large scale, dense residential development that would strain schools and town services.
The site requires extensive environmental cleanup, which is estimated would cost about $10 million. Holes in windows and roofs of existing buildings are stirring up “massive amounts of friable asbestos” fallen from ceilings and sending the hazardous materials outdoors.
The state Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) has ordered all the buildings closed up, and prohibited any entry without hazardous material protective gear. It is impossible to board up the buildings because of the widespread collapse of structural elements, including roofs, doors and windows. The seven-story dormitory building, the largest on site, is structurally unsound and no one is allowed to enter. DEP inspectors don't enter because of the unsafe conditions.
Tests on the one-acre landfill site on the northeast portion of the property have shown high levels of lead, arsenic, and asbestos in the trash, appliances, medical waste, and building and demolition materials dumped there between the 1950s and 1970s. The thousands of yards of waste includes vials and other hospital materials whose contents cannot be identified, and could eventually leach into the surrounding soil and groundwater.
Town residents and officials criticized current property owner Derek Maksy for not participating in discussions of redevelopment issues, not complying with DEP orders to secure the buildings and prevent asbestos dust from escaping, and not start the promised clean-up of the landfill site.