Montague 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: 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 aid river transportation. Lumbering was the area’s prime industry during this period.

Turners Falls’ future began to take shape in 1864 when 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. He formed the Turners Falls Co. to take advantage of the immense waterpower available from the river.

With a cadre of business partners and investors, Crocker started building a dam along the Connecticut River in 1866 as well as an updated canal to open giant possibilities for new industry in the region. And after industrialist Bernard N. Farren, along with Crocker, played an instrumental role in the local railroad development, 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 ahead of its opening in November 1900, independently operated by the Sisters of Providence. For many, the first time they met a Catholic nun was while they were 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 for $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 an old maple tree on the Farren grounds inspired 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 as the nuns 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 the 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 died there. The facility was a primary employer for local residents, and countless female teenagers volunteered as “candy stripers.” Candy stripers were responsible for providing refreshed water glasses, delivering and collecting meal trays, delivering mail and flowers, running errands for staff members, 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 center in 1990.

The closing of the hospital in 1988 was disappointing for many, but the newly established Farren Care Center with 122 beds provided a safety net for residents who were often rejected for admission at traditional nursing homes because of their dual diagnoses or complex combinations of medical, mental and psychological needs.

The Sisters of Providence Health System created a truly unique care center 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 of New England ultimately became the facility’s parent company.

When the Farren Care Center with 105 patients closed in April 2021 following the merger of senior care programs, it employed about 135 full-time staff members. 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 Church, which is raising money to repurpose one of the former hospital’s marquee details, a statue of Jesus Christ, into a memorial.

Wid Perry lives in
Greenfield.