The history of the hannah b.g. shaw home

Hannah Bartlett Griffith was born November 14, 1855, in Carver, Massachusetts, to Thomas Bartlett Griffith and Hannah Dunham. She had two brothers, Henry & Thomas Jr., neither who lived to adulthood. It is speculated that these two deaths were why the Griffith family became involved in the Spiritualist movement and certainly why Hannah inherited such a large sum of money after her father's death.  Hannah continued to stay involved in the Spiritualist movement until her death. Throughout her life she believes she talks to her father through a medium.

On November 14, 1881, Hannah Bartlett Griffith married Benjamin Ward Shaw in Carver, Massachusetts, the same day as her birthday. The family initially resided in Boston, Massachusetts where the Murdock Parlor Grate Company, successor of the Ellis Furnace Company, had several showrooms. The couple traveled extensively throughout their marriage and also had homes in Weymouth, Bridgewater and Middleboro. Benjamin Shaw operated a livery in Jamaica Plain and later worked at the Middleboro Agricultural Society, where he also drove racehorses. Mr. Shaw eventually operated the Tispaquin Farm, the current site of the Hannah B.G. Shaw Home.

Hannah's father served in the Civil War as Captain in the Massachusetts volunteers and retired as a Major. Upon his return, Major Griffith invested heavily in the Boston Fruit Company which later merged with the United Fruit Company, and eventually became Chiquita (International) Brand. Hannah's father died in 1897, followed by her mother’s death  in 1910. Because Hannah became the sole heir to the company and all of Griffith's investments, she began to make many philanthropic donations. Between 1914 and 1930, Hannah donated funds to the Sons of Veterans Memorial in Carver, her home on S. Main Street in Middleboro to the Montgomery Home Association, and funding for an addition to St. Luke's Hospital including x-ray equipment and the expansion of the emergency room. 

The Hannah B.G. Shaw Home opened for residents in February of 1941.

In 1933, Hannah passed away and developed a trust in her will that would donate her home, which would later become The Hannah B.G. Shaw Home upon the death of her husband Benjamin.  Since its opening, the Hannah B.G. Shaw Home has had five major renovations. The first was in 1950 with the addition of extra residential care rooms on the South wing. In 1958, additional rooms were added to the same wing. Over thirty years later, the Home converted some rooms and built the skilled unit. In 2002, construction began on the wellness center which modernized our kitchen, residential dining area, and activities area. In 2014, we added an additional 60,000 square feet to the existing building. This encompassed 52 private bedrooms with full private bathrooms, a state-of-the-art rehabilitation gym and café.