Recollections of "The Farren."

by Wid Perry

Montague - also known as Great Falls - began as a struggling enterprise, isolated and ignored despite its prime location on the banks of the vast Connecticut River.

           The town, named for English Sea Captain William Montague, was established in 1754 with its five villages (“five villages, one town”): Turners Falls, Millers Falls, Lake Pleasant, Montague Center, and Montague City. The centerpiece village of Turners Falls became relevant when canals were built in the early 1800s to help river transportation. Lumbering was the area’s prime industry during this period.

           Turners Falls’ future truly began in 1866 when 65-year-old Alvah Crocker of Fitchburg visited the area. A manufacturer, politician and railroad builder, Crocker was an impressive entrepreneur who saw a great industrial future for the little town by the falls. He formed the Turners Falls Company to take advantage of the immense waterpower available from the river.

With a cadre of business partners and investors, Crocker built a new dam along the Connecticut as well as an updated canal to open giant possibilities for new industry in the region. And when industrialist Bernard “Barney” Farren enticed the railroads to invest in Turners Falls, more businesses followed.

           Farren became a prominent citizen of Montague and he pushed to establish a general care community hospital in Montague City.  The local Catholic hospital would be named after Farren when it opened in 1902, independently operated by the Sisters of Providence.  For many, the first time they met a Catholic Nun was while a patient at the Farren! 

By the early 1950s, the front porch of the hospital was rebuilt, and columns, a railing, and a statue were added. The newer three floor wing built on the south side of the original structure was built in 1964 at a cost of $1.6 million, adding 68 medical and surgical beds, 15 maternity beds, an emergency room, physical therapy rooms, and administrative offices.

Many locals insist that the old rock maple on the Farren grounds inspired poet Joyce Kilmer’s poem “Trees” written in 1914, although scholars have been unable to confirm the poem’s roots. 

But the Farren was special just the same.  Generations of people experienced the kindness and competence of the Sisters of Providence whose mission was to minister to patients. Many remember the veils and the long black (or white) habits with rosary beads worn at the waist that clicked when the nun walked.

There was Mass available in the St. Francis of Assisi Chapel with its beautiful stained-glass windows and even if a non-Catholic was a patient at the hospital, surely they witnessed the goodness of the Lord through the talents, character, example, dedication and commitment of the Sisters of Providence and the civilian cadre of Farren Staff answering the call.

Generations of Franklin County residents were born at the Farren Memorial Hospital, were patients at the facility, and some sadly passed away at the hospital.  The facility was a primary employer for local residents, and countless female teenagers volunteered as “candy stripers”, responsible for providing refreshed water glasses, delivering and collecting meal trays, delivering mail and flowers, running errands for Staff, making pharmacy and lab runs, delivering messages, making beds, and visiting with patients.

Farren Memorial operated as an independent facility until 1984, when it was joined with Providence Hospital and Mercy Hospital into Providence Systems and then Sisters of Providence Health Systems. Farren Memorial Hospital operated as a general care facility until 1988, and was converted to a long-term rehabilitation care facility for mentally ill people with physical illnesses in 1990. 

The closing of the hospital in 1988 was disappointing for many, but the newly established Farren Care Center provided a safety net for a challenging constituency by offering specialized long-term care at the 122 bed facility for residents rejected for admission at traditional nursing homes because of their dual diagnoses, or combinations of medical, mental, and psychological needs.

The Sisters of Providence Health System creating a truly unique care center at the former Farren Hospital with specially trained Staff providing a quality of life for residents with unique needs. The Farren Care Center was absorbed into the Mercy Medical Center group and Trinity Health ultimately became the parent company of the facility.  Local priests served as facility Chaplains and laypeople volunteered as Eucharistic Ministers. 

When the Farren Care Center with 105 patients closed in 2020 following the merger of senior care programs, it employed about 135 full time Staff. Renovation costs were considered astronomical and the storied facility was razed in 2023, ending a long and amazing legacy of health care, careers, service, history, and memories.

           But the Farren legacy lives on, thanks in part to Our Lady of Peace Parish in Turners Falls……………………………..

Wid Perry