Exploring an Old Prison Camp in Central Massachusetts

Jay Bell

Hoping that this is the only prison I spend time in!

A set of decaying jail cells is now the canvas for graffiti.

​Sometimes my teen-aged daughters tell me they don’t want to sweat, or something seems boring, or they don’t have ideas about what to do, or they say nothing as they stare blankly at their iPhones while I’m trying to talk to them (“Bueller… Bueller… Bueller…). I’m not the first parent to think, “geez, when I was a kid…” But on this spring day, I decided to nudge them into a minor adventure: exploring an old prison camp in the Central Massachusetts town of Rutland.
 
The two teens and a friend piled into the truck and got to control the radio on the drive out. I very kindly decided not to point out to them how much worse their music is than mine, or that they were a tad pitchy as they sang along, sometimes at the top of their lungs.

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I have no idea what this structure was used for, but it was fun to explore.

​The prison camp is state property, but accessible. It requires walking, so hiking boots or at least sturdy shoes are good. Fashionably rugged is great, although it might create some agony if they get muddy.
 
This camp began in 1903. It was a working farm in the middle of the state, not near much of anything. Despite the openness, the state wasn’t too worried. These criminals were only jailed for minor offenses such as public drunkenness. So, there wasn’t much concern about a band of partiers roaming the countryside robbing people of their beer kegs. Instead, inmates passed their time working on the farm to sustain themselves, but were still required to sleep in jail cells.
 
The prison camp was abandoned when the property became part of the land feeding water into the Quabbin Reservoir, which in turn provided the water for much of the more urban population in eastern Massachusetts. Many of the structures were torn down, but some remains still stand.

If kids are taking photos, they're interested in what's going on.

​We found a few places to explore. One was mostly underground and beginning to collapse, another was built into a hill that was completely accessible, and one set of jail cells still remains. Graffiti covers much of it all, as a contrast to the natural views that otherwise abound. There are also some more subtle remnants, such as some cement stairs in a seemingly random location, or cement slabs that might have been foundations to sheds or to help channel water. But most of these weren’t worth bushwhacking to fully explore.
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A couple of other interesting spots are perhaps a minute’s drive from the small parking area.  Goose Neck Cemetery is a small, old burial ground. It allowed for the group challenge of exploring every headstone to find which the oldest grave, dating back to the early 1800s. It also allowed for some insights into history, such as a woman who lived into her 70s when antibiotics weren’t available, who would have therefore had to fight off so many colds on her own to live so long, whereas we now have a quick fix that eliminates any worry about dying from a seemingly minor illness.

Searching for the oldest headstone led to interesting discoveries and discussion.

Behind this spot we found a path to another cemetery. This one housed the remains of prisoners who died of tuberculosis or other reason, and were buried in unmarked graves. It struck all of us as a sad ending for someone who only committed some fairly trivial crime. A Boy Scout project resulted in placing wooden crosses at all graves, most of which had depressions in the ground. This was a respectful project, but the 59 crosses in the quiet woods was creepy, and the girls were a little weirded out. It wasn’t as spooky as the abandoned railroad tunnel in Clinton, but more eerie than the grandiose remains of a mansion and its gardens.

After years of being forgotten, local boy scouts recognized these prisoners' graves.

The sites were interesting to the kids. They also enjoyed being able to explore in their own way, at their own pace. And diversions such finding a caterpillar to freak each other out was apparently fun. *Sigh* The bottom line was that instead of being bored and disengaged, or being stressed from all of the pressures on kids today, all three kids were immersed in the history, nature, people, and architecture of their community. As an added bonus, they got their exercise for the day, too. Their self-directed learning through their questions, comments, photos, and hands-on discoveries showed they were clearly enjoying the excursion while growing a little from it.
 
This also deserved a parenting high-five when their social media postings led to inquiries from friends about where this place is, so friends could ask their own parents to take them to check it out. As an aside, this trek is also fun for families with younger kids or couples – you don’t need to rent a teenager in order to come here!
 
What you need to know:

• Rutland Prison Camp, Rutland, Massachusetts
• If you put Goose Neck Cemetery into Google Maps, you can start off with the cemetery. A dirt road on one side of it then leads you to the prison cemetery.
• If you continue down Charnock Hill Road a tiny bit to the intersection with Intervale Road, you can park at the trailhead. Parking is free.
• Walk up Intervale Road to Prison Camp Road, and take a right. The three main structures we described are easy to spot. In order, they were some sort of underground bunker, some jail cells, and a building built into the side of a hill. We’re not aware of other foundations cool enough to seek out.
• The trails aren’t really well marked, but are fairly obvious and also shown on google maps, although the cell signal is weak. So you can use your iPhone to help guide you. Perhaps take a screen shot of Google Maps just to be safe.
• Be sure to do a tick check when you’re leaving!