The Medfield State Hospital was originally sited on 700 acres of land here and in Dover but the State Department of Mental Health, which owns the property, turned a large chunk of the land over to the State Department of Environmental Management about 10 years ago, creating the state park. The hospital was left with 225 acres and part of the land is above a giant reservoir that was developed by the US Army about 15 years ago.

According to Michael Sullivan, Medfield's town administrator, the transfer would make everyone happy. Much of the 140-bed hospital's land is currently used for recreation already and the transfer would make that official. The land is near the Bay Circuit Trail, which runs from the North shore to the South Shore and around Boston. If the transfer goes through, this land would be part of the trail. The hospital, he points out, doers not want to have to continue to maintain the land. "They have said they are not in that business and they want it off their backs," he says. In addition, he adds that the region would also benefit because if this land were developed intensely it would increase the run-off into the reservoir.

The hospital preservation committee put forth their proposal to state legislators and it would need legislative approval to happen. But Sullivan notes that if the legislative process doesn't work for the transfer the plan could go the administrative route. He says that the land could be declared surplus and be transferred that way to become custody of the Departmental of Environmental Management.