The Lyman School for Boys was established by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts about 1886 and was closed in 1971. It was the first reform school, or training school in the United States, replacing the State Reform School for Boys near the same site, which was opened in 1848. The school was named for its principal benefactor, Theodore Lyman, who had been a mayor of Boston, Massachusetts in 1834 and a philanthropist. Lyman School is not used for its original purpose today but remains a nationally registered historic place.