Wood County Historical Center and Museum

Last updated
Wood County Historical Center and Museum
Lunatic House and Infirmary.jpg
Wood County Historical Center and Museum
Former name
Wood County Infirmary
Established1975 (1975)
LocationBowling Green, Ohio
TypeHistory museum
Website www.woodcountyhistory.org

The Wood County Museum, located in Bowling Green, Ohio, is the original site of the Wood County Infirmary also known as the Wood County Home or the Poor Farm. This structure was the home to poor, mentally- ill, physically disabled and anyone in need of public assistance who were residents of Wood County.

Contents

History

Infirmary

The main Infirmary building was built in 1868, [1] and the Infirmary opened in 1869 where it also operated as a Poor Farm. [2] The presence of an Infirmary in Bowling Green was a contributing factor that helped it gain status as County Seat instead of Perrysburg, Ohio. [2]

In 1885 a Lunatic House was built on the grounds to house the mentally ill. [2] Many of the first residents to live there had been moved from prior quarters in the waterlogged basement of a jail in Perrysburg, Ohio. [2] Treatments prescribed included fresh air, Laudanum with Mercury and Alcohol added, and Herbal medicine. [2] The Lunatic House ceased operations in the 1930's, when it was converted to serve as a hospital and dormitory for families during the Great Depression. [2]

By 1898 the east and central wings of the infirmary were condemned and rebuilt. [1] Oil wells built on the property as a result of the Ohio oil boom supplied heating and lighting oil until 1904, and the lack of heating in the East and Central wings was still an issue in 1979. [1] In the 1920's the director of the Infirmary hand built a stone wall around the site. [1] [3]

The Paupers Cemetery contains at least 355 burials. [4] Removal of the headstones to make mowing the lawn easier made identification difficult. [2]


Museum

On 1971 the Infirmary closed its doors and residents were moved to a new location. [3] Between 1971 and 1974 the vacant building was heavily vandalized. [1] Lyle Fletcher, a local historian and director of the city parks convinced the county commissioners to save the building. [3] By spring 1975 the building opened as the Wood County Museum. [3]

The Museum was shown on WBGU-TV program Scenic Stop, which premiered December 6, 2012. [5]

Exhibits

The Museum is home to over 30 exhibits about this building's history and the social history of Wood County.

Outbuildings

There are several outbuildings, including a pest house to isolate men with communicable diseases such as scarlet fever and influenza, a hog barn and an ice house.

Mary Bach

The museum hosts the fingers of Mary Bach, who was murdered in 1881. The fingers were kept as evidence and preserved in whisky before being transferred to a Formalin solution, and later to a contemporary preservation scheme in 2015. [6] [7]

See also

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Flick, Jim (25 May 1979). "Hundred-year-old mansion captures county history". BG News (Student Newspaper) (The BG News May 25, 1979). Retrieved 13 October 2020.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Ellsworth, Katy (8 March 2001). "Building under repair housed the 'lunatics'". BG News (Student Newspaper) (The BG News March 8, 2001). Retrieved 13 October 2020.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Whitakar, Cindy (9 July 1981). "'Hall of muses' full of Wood County history". BG News (Student Newspaper) (The BG News July 9, 1981). Retrieved 12 October 2020.
  4. ↑ Petkosik, Amber (22 October 2012). "'Infirmary tours' return for fall". BG News (Student Newspaper) (The BG News October 22, 2012). Retrieved 13 October 2020.
  5. ↑ http://www.wbgu.org/programming/scenicstops/index.php
  6. ↑ "Wood Co. museum rethinking how to show fingers of 1881 murder victim". Sentinel-Tribune. Retrieved 7 October 2019.
  7. ↑ Feehan, Jennifer. "Museum's jar with 3 fingers tells brutal tale". The Blade. Retrieved 7 October 2019.

Coordinates: 41°21′03″N83°37′01″W / 41.350833°N 83.616944°W / 41.350833; -83.616944

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