Plymouth County Hospital

Plymouth County Hospital History

In 1919 the Hanson Tuberculosis Hospital was constructed as a sanitarium to treat the victims of TB from Boston and Plymouth County. When the Tuberculosis epidemic died out due to advances in medicine, the hospital was used as a general hospital under the name Plymouth County Hospital.

The role of the facility changed once again in 1982, when it began providing special long-term care to patients with chronic and terminal illness, such as muscular dystrophy. The 68-bed chronic care facility was thus re-named Cranberry Specialty Hospital.

In 1991, all 60 patients were transferred to a new building 18 miles away in Middleborough, and the old hospital was shuttered in 1992. The 56-acre property was sold from Plymouth County to the town of Hanson for $950,000 in 1999. In 2001, 23 acres were sold to Baran Partners who planned to build townhouses and an assisted-living facility, but the plans fell through. The property had been subject to great amounts of vandalism and arson as lengthy court battles proceeded. After several stages of demolition, the hospital was completely razed in 2017.