Rainsford Island State Almshouse

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Rainsford Island has a long history of institutional use beginning in 1736 when it was purchased by the Massachusetts Bay Colony for use as a quarantine station. In 1852 the former buildings of the quarantine station were converted for use as a state almshouse tasked with the care of unsettled paupers suffering from infectious diseases. It was the fourth state almshouse alongside the ones at Bridgewater, Monson and Tewksbury. In 1866, the alsmhouse was authorized to care for veterans of the Civil War a function that would continue to be expanded upon until the closure of the almshouse in 1887. This preceded the opening of the Chelsea Soldiers Home in 1888, which would continue its function of caring for veterans living in the commonwealth.