What Happened To The Waltham Disability Museum At The Fernald?

WALTHAM, MA — Students at Gann Academy developed a mock-up of what a national disability museum would look like if housed at the city-owned Fernald property back in 2018. That year, the Charles River Museum of Industry hosted the exhibit, and it garnered national attention.

"The idea, in part, was motivated by the National Memorial for Peace and Reconciliation... but with a focus on America's cruel and longstanding institutional treatment of people with disabilities," said Alex Green, a fellow at Harvard University who taught the class at Gann Academy.

At the opening event for the exhibit at the museum, the mayor told the students that she agreed with the idea. And then, they heard her say she approved of the museum.

"I hope and I pray that you donate this to the city of Waltham, so I may put this exhibit in the Walter E. Fernald Administration Center so that all generations will know that not only does Gann Academy have great kids, but that they’re committed to social justice that’s a labor of love," Waltham Mayor Jeannette McCarthy said at the grand opening event, the Tribune reported at the time.

But, two years later, and nothing has happened — to the chagrin of students and advocates alike.

It can take time to get things done in the city, but Green — who is a senior research associate at Harvard — said the city hasn't taken any of the legal steps needed to assure that any projects can happen there without becoming a "boondoggle."

"Repeated conversations with potential supporters for the museum came back to the same core issues," he said.

The City Council's Fernald Use Committee — which is tasked with making recommendations for how to best use the property — does not meet frequently. According to the city website, the committee met once in 2016, seven times in 2017 and seven in 2018, three times last year and so far three times this year.

And the city has not filed conservation restrictions for the site with the state six years after purchasing it, Green said. The mayor says the land is already restricted by the Community Preservation Act, and it also has a Massachusetts historic preservation restriction. But Green said without conservation restrictions that ensure the buildings will be maintained, or land preserved, few outside donors for the museum would want to get involved.

"And that [has] made any movement impossible for advocates, and forced us to wait to see if the Mayor would begin to responsibly take steps to allow the groundwork to be established," he said. "It never happened."

So now the group is asking the city to create an independent governing board for the site, with inclusion of citizens with disabilities.

"There should be planners and advocates on that board for the key uses at the site, which are legally required to be historic preservation and open space preservation. Otherwise, it's going to continue to be the small-town boondoggle that it has become, with a site of national historic importance."

What was the Fernald

The Fernald Center served children and then adults with developmental disabilities from the 1800s. It began as the first public school of its kind.

But some 40 years after it opened, things shifted, and it became a place where staff performed medical experiments on disabled children and people in the 20th century. After a class-action lawsuit in the 1970s a judge ordered conditions improved. And they did.

With a trend toward inclusivity for people with disabilities, the number of people living there decreased. In 2003, the state ordered the facility's closure. But families and staff fought to keep it open for the people who were still there. It finally closed in 2014, and Waltham bought the property from the state that year for $3.7 million, using a portion of the Community Preservation Act, which limits use of the land.

In 2017, the mayor submitted a master plan to the City Council that included recommendations for open space and recreation, historic preservation, affordable housing and veterans housing.

Movement at the Fernald

McCarthy told Patch since then it's been difficult to get anything to move forward, but she declined to comment on a museum. This summer, she presented the possibility of moving the Department of Public Works to the portion of the property that isn't protected by the Community Preservation Act. And Wednesday, she said she was preparing a comprehensive update for the City Council, but it was not yet ready.

The group said that over the years, the mayor and some councilors have floated the idea of a museum at various buildings on the property, including the former administration building, which has just been damaged by fire.

Use Committee Chairman John McLaughlin of Ward 4 did not respond to request for comment. Patch also reached out to the other members of the committee: Councilors George Darcy of Ward 3, Cathyann Harris Ward 8, Joey LaCava of Ward 5, and Randy LeBlanc, who is an at-large councilor.

Darcy recently proposed a resolution for the museum before the City Council. But they say the mayor has still not met with them.

Zach Sherman, who was one of the students who heard the mayor say she would support a museum on the property back in 2018, said he's disappointed there has been no movement on it.

"Waltham has been neglecting Fernald for years, waiting for the buildings to become dilapidated enough to justify knocking them down," he said in an email. "The people of Fernald need to be properly remembered, and the site needs to be used to benefit people with disabilities (5K loops, therapeutic pools and gyms, a disability history museum) before the thought can even be entertained of using it for celebration."

Read more:

• OPINION: At the Fernald, First Responders and Kids Come Last
• Disability Advocates Push Back On Waltham Light Show...
• Waltham Eyes Moving Public Works To Fernald Property

Jenna Fisher is a news reporter for Patch. Got a tip? She can be reached at Jenna.Fisher@patch.com or by calling 617-942-0474. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram (@ReporterJenna). Have a something you'd like posted on the Patch? Here's how.