The Dr. Joseph H. Ladd Center was a once a state-run facility providing residential, vocational, and medical services for youth and adults with developmental disabilities. But over a hundred year ago, it was known as a feeble-minded school — an institution more closely resembling an almshouse and reformatory.
This collection of nearly 1,000 photographs provides a broad, candid, and intimate look at life behind and beyond the walls of the Ladd School.
More than 15 hours — over six miles — of reel-to-reel film of the Ladd School, recorded between about 1960 and 1972.
A rich tapestry of compelling minutiae interwoven with historical insights into the daily life and operation of The Ladd School.
