{"product_id":"massachusetts-correctional-institution-bridgewater-a-troubled-past-9781540228215","title":"Massachusetts Correctional Institution-Bridgewater: A Troubled Past","description":"Once known as MCI-Bridgewater and earlier as the Massachusetts State Farm, the Bridgewater Correctional Complex opened in 1854. It was one of several progressive charitable institutions the state created as a model for communities around the world. However, deteriorating conditions for its residents shadowed Bridgewater's evolution from an almshouse to a prison and hospital for the criminally insane. A century later, it was among the nation's most notorious asylums. Historian Michael J. Maddigan offers a riveting examination of this infamous history, including the inspiration for state-sponsored welfare, moral and legal challenges and the experiences of the people who lived and worked there.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eMaddigan, Michael J.:\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e - Historian Michael J. Maddigan has been engaged in research, writing and historic preservation for more than thirty years. He is the author of twelve previous books, including Nemasket River Herring: A History, Images of America: Middleborough, Onset and Point Independence, Spiritualist Onset: Talking with the Dead by the Sea and Muttock: Middleborough's Revolutionary Village. His work is carried in the Middleboro Gazette, for which he has written more than five hundred historical columns; is featured on the blog Recollecting Nemasket; and has appeared in numerous publications. A native of Middleborough, Massachusetts, he is the founder of Recollecting Nemasket, a small publishing press devoted to the history of southeastern Massachusetts. A graduate of Stonehill College, he holds a Master of Arts degree from the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University. He currently serves as the chairman of the Middleborough Historical Commission and as a commissioner was responsible for listing South Middleborough in the National Register of Historic Places. He makes his home in a renovated 1863 woolen mill. To learn more about Mike's work, visit www.recollectingnemasket.com.","brand":"History Press Library Editions","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50473544417554,"sku":"9781540228215","price":23.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_b57ab310-4151-4b34-bb80-647e82c64b65.jpg?v=1730198637","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/massachusetts-correctional-institution-bridgewater-a-troubled-past-9781540228215","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}