Farm

In 1887, when the school was still located in Boston, the Bird Estate in Waltham was acquired for the construction of the school's new facilities, comprising of 18 acres, a stone-built farmhouse and a barn. By 1888, the home had been modified to house 20-30 boys from the school, marking it as the first enduring structure on the campus, although it served merely for temporary lodging rather than the direct care of the children. The young men brought in from the school in Boston were characterized as "quiet, industrious adult males" who engaged in tasks such as digging drains, clearing the land, and constructing roads essential for the new buildings on the Waltham campus, as well as farming food for the residents. Once the Boys' Dormitory was built in 1891, these young men would no longer need to live in a makeshift farm house.

The Fernald school steadily expanded throughout the years to encompass a staggering 196 acres. Much of this land was cultivated similarly to any traditional farm, ensuring the provision of fresh vegetables and fruits for the children. A dairy facility collected milk, stables accommodated work horses, and a slaughterhouse processed meats from pigs and poultry. Much of the outdoor labor was performed by the older boys at Fernald, while girls worked on drying, canning, and preparing the raw goods for market or consumption. This patient labor was once deemed therapeutic up until the mid-20th century, though it is now seen as exploitative of the disabled as well as a form of child labor. Surplus products were sold, offsetting the operating cost of the institution by tens of thousands of dollars each year.

When farming operations ceased in the 1970s, these utilitarian buildings were repurposed as garages, sheds, and storage for Fernald's grounds department until the institution's eventual closure. The fallow fields were converted to lawn or grew wild, however the spirit of the school's farm had never dissipated. Flowers, vegetables and decorative plants were enthusiastically grown in the Greenhouse and sold at Greenhouse Sales, providing patients with experience in horticulture, commerce and participation in the community.

Viewing the Fernald campus from a contemporary time, the farm house stood near the power plant on Chapel Road, but has long since been demolished. Other farm support buildings included a large cow barn and grain silo to the northwest, an adjacent milking house, a slaughterhouse to the west, and residences for male workers to the north. Several of these buildings were constructed in 1890 after lighting struck the old barn and burned it down. A concrete cow barn and hay shed were built in 1916.