The Greene County Almshouse is a historic poorhouse located in Greene County, Illinois, along a township road northeast of the city of Carrollton. The almshouse was built in 1870 in accordance with an 1839 state law which provided for each county to establish its own almshouse or poor farm for welfare recipients. Prior to passage of the law, public welfare in Illinois had taken the form of "outdoor relief", in which the poor worked on farms in exchange for basic support. Under Illinois' county almshouse system, the poor were intended to receive shelter and necessities in the houses, often in exchange for farm labor on the property. By 1903, all but two of Illinois' counties had established an almshouse or poor farm.[2]
Greene County established its first poor farm in 1842. The county saw a need for a larger facility in 1869, and it built the present Italianate almshouse building the following year. The new almshouse held roughly thirty residents at any given time; its population included local paupers, vagrants, the physically and mentally disabled, orphans, and the elderly. Residents at the almshouse worked on grain and livestock farms, vegetable gardens and, in later years, fruit orchards on the property. According to the State Board of Public Charities, the residents of the almshouse experienced "excellent" living conditions, in contrast to many of the state's other county poorhouses.[2][3]
In the 20th century, the almshouse gradually became a home for the elderly rather than a general poorhouse. By 1910, the majority of the almshouse's residents were over 60 years old, and the proportion increased to 90% by 1928. The almshouse consequently shifted its mission to serve its newly specialized population. In 1932, Illinois formally shifted to a statewide direct welfare program which largely removed the need for the county almshouse program.[2]
The almshouse was subject to two acts of suspected arson activity in August 2022, which caused the majority of the remaining building to be lost.[4]
In October 2022, a group of Greene County residents petitioned the Greene County Board of Trustees to erect a memorial at the almshouse's cemetery, which was approved by the board.[5]
Morgan County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2020 census, it had a population of 32,915. Its county seat is Jacksonville.
A nursing home is a facility for the residential care of older people, senior citizens, or disabled people. Nursing homes may also be referred to as care homes, skilled nursing facilities (SNF) or long-term care facilities. Often, these terms have slightly different meanings to indicate whether the institutions are public or private, and whether they provide mostly assisted living, or nursing care and emergency medical care. Nursing homes are used by people who do not need to be in a hospital, but require care that is hard to provide in a home setting. The nursing home staff attends to the patients' medical and other needs. Most nursing homes have nursing aides and skilled nurses on hand 24 hours a day.
An almshouse is charitable housing provided to people in a particular community, especially during the Middle Ages. They were often targeted at the poor of a locality, at those from certain forms of previous employment, or their widows, and at elderly people who could no longer pay rent, and are generally maintained by a charity or the trustees of a bequest. Almshouses were originally formed as extensions of the church system and were later adapted by local officials and authorities.
A poorhouse or workhouse is a government-run facility to support and provide housing for the dependent or needy.
Eloise Psychiatric Hospital was a large complex located in Westland, Michigan. It was named after Eloise Dickerson Davock, the daughter of Detroit's postmaster.
An overseer of the poor was an official who administered poor relief such as money, food, and clothing in England and various other countries which derived their law from England such as the United States.
The Redwood County Poor Farm was a county run institution serving impoverished and aged people in Redwood Falls, Minnesota, United States, from 1884 to 1889 and again from 1909 to 1967, when it was converted to a nursing home.
The Jacksonville Developmental Center was an institution for developmentally delayed clients, located in Jacksonville, Illinois. It was open from 1851 to November 2012. As of December 2012, the 134-acre (54 ha) grounds was still owned by the State of Illinois.
Ashmore Estates is a historic building outside Ashmore, Illinois, United States. It was built in 1916 as the second almshouse on the property, part of the Coles County Poor Farm. This complex operated until 1959.
Frederick County Poor Farm, also known as the Frederick County Poorhouse, is a historic poor farm complex located at Round Hill, Frederick County, Virginia. The main building, erected in 1820, is a Federal style building that consists of a two-story brick main block and original lateral one-story brick wings with gable roofs. A nearly identical building is at the Shenandoah County Farm. Also on the property are a contributing brick spring house, secondary dwelling, blacksmith shop, storage building, poultry house, and board-and-batten outbuilding. The Frederick County Poor Farm remained open until 1947.
Almshouse Farm at Machipongo, now known as the Barrier Islands Center, is a historic almshouse for Northampton County residents. Residents, also known as "inmates", included those sent for unpaid debts but also included homeless people, the mentally ill, orphans and those with diseases like tuberculosis and smallpox. "Inmates" were generally directed by the court to live at the almshouse. The Almshouse Farm served as the site for the Northampton County poorhouse for almost 150 years, from 1804 until 1952. African-Americans were housed in a separate building on the property located at Machipongo, Northampton County, Virginia. The oldest of the three main buildings was built about 1725, and is a 1 1/2-half story structure built in two parts, one brick and one frame, and probably predates the almshouse use of the property. The main building was built about 1840, and is a frame, two-story building in the vernacular Greek Revival style. It housed residents of the almshouse farm. A building dated to 1910, is a one-story frame building in a form resembling that of one-story frame school buildings from the same period and was specifically constructed to separately house African-American residents. There were 10 rooms for the black poor, and no in-house plumbing. This building was renovated in 2013 and now serves as the BIC Education Building. Also on the property are two contributing small, frame, late-19 or early 20th-century outbuildings. The Northampton County Almshouse Farm was in continuous operation between 1803 and 1952.
Wythe County Poorhouse Farm is a historic poor farm complex located at Wytheville, Wythe County, Virginia. The poor farm was established in 1858, and remained in operation until 1957. It was the second poor farm in Wythe County; the first was in operation from 1825 to 1858. The property includes the contributing Queen Anne style overseer's house, eight pauper homes, a shed, a spring house, smokehouse, wash house, and chicken coop. The property is open to the public for visitation and historical interpretation.
The Saline County Poor Farm is a historic poor farm located at 1600 Feazel Road in Harrisburg, Illinois. The farm was founded in 1863 in accordance with an 1839 state law providing for each county to establish a poor farm or almshouse. After using a cheaply made log building to house the poor for several years, a permanent brick residence was constructed on the farm in 1877. The poor farm was designed to provide shelter for the county's impoverished residents under the condition that they work on the farm if able. During the late 1800s, this was the most common means of providing social relief for the poor in Illinois; by 1903, only two of the state's 102 counties had not established a poor farm or almshouse. However, the county poor farms frequently suffered from substandard living conditions, and the Saline County farm was no exception. According to various state reports from the early 1900s, the buildings were not maintained properly, disease and bedbugs were rampant, official oversight was lacking, and inmates often refused to work.
The Broome County Alms House, was located in the town of Dickinson, three miles north of Binghamton in Broome county, New York. The red brick building operated as a shelter for the poor, take care of the sick, disabled, mentally unwell, widowed, and orphaned persons in the community until c. 1960. The goal of the almshouse was to both help break the cycle of poverty and to care for members of the community who had no means of caring take of themselves. The building was demolished on February 5, 2010.
Boulder County Poor Farm is the site of a poor farm in the Valmont area of Boulder County, Colorado, where long-term care for the county's indigent was provided from 1902 to 1918. The site operated as a farm from 1897, and many of the original farm buildings are still present, including a main house built in Queen Anne style. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2011.
The Historical Society of Baltimore County (HSBC) was founded in 1959 with the goal of preserving, interpreting, and illustrating the history of Baltimore County for the benefit of present and future generations of Marylanders, and is a resource for those interested in researching both local and family history. As the HSBC describes it, they "continually accomplish" their mission "through the production of presentations, lectures, workshops, entertaining educational publications, historical tours, and exhibits." Centrally located in Cockeysville, Maryland, the Society operates out of the Agriculture Building, the former Baltimore County Almshouse, which was built in 1872 and used to house the poor and mentally ill of Baltimore County until 1958.
The Wabasha County Poor House is a historic poorhouse complex in Wabasha, Minnesota, United States, which was operated by Wabasha County from 1873 to the 1930s. The complex consists of an 1879 hospital, an 1883 residence hall, a barn, and a shed. The property was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982 for its local significance in the theme of social history. It was nominated as a well-preserved example of the county-run poorhouses established in rural Minnesota in the latter 19th century, a reminder of early governmental efforts to aid the poor and aged before the advent of modern welfare programs.
The Wellington County House of Industry and Refuge, located in Fergus, Ontario, is the oldest surviving state-supported poorhouse in Canada. Constructed in 1877, the site operated as a poorhouse and farm until 1947, and as an old age home until 1971. In the 1980s, the building was repurposed to house the Wellington County Museum and Archives. The Wellington County House of Industry and Refuge was designated a National Historic Site of Canada in 1995 based on its illustration of 19th century attitudes towards poverty and the origins of Canada's social safety net.
The Malden City Infirmary is a historic municipal facility at 341 Forest Street in Malden, Massachusetts. Established by the city in the 18th century as a poor farm, the surviving elements of the property include the 1870 Warden's House, and the 1933 infirmary, which continues to serve as an elderly care and nursing facility known as Forestdale Senior Living. The property was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2020.
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