| State Reform School for Boys | |
|---|---|
 As seen from 1848 to 1852 | |
  Westborough Location of State Reform School | |
| General information | |
| Status | Closed |
| Type | Institutional |
| Location | Westborough, Massachusetts |
| Country | United States |
| Coordinates | 42°18′03″N 71°36′32″W / 42.300698°N 71.608960°W |
| Construction started | July 1847 |
| Opened | November 1, 1848 |
| Inaugurated | December 7, 1848 |
| Relocated | April 1884 |
| Renovated | 1853 / 1877 |
| Closed | April 1884 |
| Cost | $52,000 ($1,479,000 in 2015 dollars) |
| Renovation cost | $50,000 / $90,000 |
| Owner | State of Massachusetts |
| Technical details | |
| Material | Foundation-Stone, Exterior-Brick, Roof-Slate |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect(s) | Elias Carter of Springfield, James Savage of Southborough |
| Main contractor | Mr. Daniel Davies of Boston |
| Known for | First publicly funded Reform School in the US |
The State Reform School for Boys in Westborough Massachusetts was a state institution for the reformation of juvenile offenders from 1848 to 1884. Originally conceived the facility was built to house up to 300 young boys but by 1852 an addition was added to house an additional 300 inmates. By 1857, there were 614 inmates at the reform school.
After a devastating fire in 1859, that consumed half of the building and was set by one of the inmates, the school created a nautical branch to house some of the older boys on school ships. The youngest boys were housed in an old mill in the nearby village while some remained in what was left of the Reform School.
By 1861 what was left of the Reform School was rebuilt and 3 "trust houses" were built, each holding approximately 30 boys. The "trust houses" as an experiment in juvenile reform in which boys were placed in a family setting known as the "cottage system". By 1872, the nautical branch was disbanded and in 1877 a "correctional" addition was added to the original building to house the older boys. After a riot broke out in 1877, information leaked to the media about cruel and unnecessarily severe punishment of the boys. Legislative hearings were held and the abuses uncovered were denounced by many in the public.
By 1880 the legislature, having deemed the Reform School a failed experiment in a congregate setting, and needing additional space for an overcrowded institutional system for the insane, used the land and the buildings to establish the Westborough Insane Hospital. By 1884, the State Reform School for Boys was relocated a couple of miles away, in Westborough, and renamed the Lyman School for Boys being established under the "cottage system".
It is widely written that the Reform School for Boys in Westborough was the first juvenile reform school to be built in the United States. This is somewhat misleading as there were several reform schools built before 1848 including; The Boston Farm School (1833) and the New York House of Refuge (1824) that were either private or corporate institutions. The State Reform School for Boys in Westborough is believed to be the oldest publicly funded reform school in the United States.