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Former name | Wood County Infirmary |
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Established | 1975 | (Museum)
Location | 13660 County Home Road, Bowling Green, Ohio [1] |
Type | History museum |
Website | woodcountyhistory |
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.
Wood County Infirmary | |
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Geography | |
Location | Bowling Green, Ohio, United States |
History | |
Construction started | 1868 |
Opened | 1869 |
Closed | 1971 |
Links | |
Lists | Hospitals in Ohio |
The main Infirmary building was built in 1868. [2] Regulations by the State of Ohio prescribed a minimum standard of living in the construction, including minimum square footage per person, healthy food, and clean laundry, among other amenities. [1] The Infirmary opened in 1869 where it also operated as a Poor Farm, giving it a degree of self sufficiency. [1] [3] The presence of an Infirmary in Bowling Green was a contributing factor that helped it gain status as County Seat instead of Perrysburg, Ohio. [3]
In 1885 a Lunatic House was built on the grounds to house the mentally ill. [3] Many of the first residents to live there had been moved from prior quarters in the waterlogged basement of a jail in Perrysburg, Ohio. [3] Treatments prescribed included fresh air, Laudanum with Mercury and Alcohol added, and Herbal medicine. [3] The Lunatic House ceased operations in the 1930s, when it was converted to serve as a hospital and dormitory for families during the Great Depression. [3]
By 1898 the east and central wings of the infirmary were condemned and rebuilt. [2] 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 again an issue in 1979. [2] In the 1920s the director of the Infirmary hand built a stone wall around the site. [2] [4] From 1935 on, the Infirmary shifted operations to be closer to a nursing home. [1]
The Paupers Cemetery contains at least 355 burials. [5] Removal of the headstones to make mowing the lawn easier made identification difficult. [3]
On 1971[ citation needed ] the Infirmary closed its doors and residents were moved to a new location. [4] Between 1971 and 1974 the vacant building was heavily vandalized. [2] Lyle Fletcher, a local historian and director of the city parks convinced the county commissioners to save the building. [4] By spring 1975 the building opened as the Wood County Museum. [4] As of 2018 the complex was one of the few preserved poor houses remaining in Ohio. [6] The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979.
The Museum was shown on WBGU-TV program Scenic Stop, which premiered December 6, 2012. [7]
The Museum is home to over 30 exhibits about this building's history and the social history of Wood County.
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.
The museum hosts the fingers of Mary Bach, who was murdered in October of 1881. [8] [9] 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. [10] [11]
Wood County is a county located in the U.S. state of Ohio. As of the 2020 census, the population was 132,248. Its county seat is Bowling Green. The county was named for Captain Eleazer D. Wood, the engineer for General William Henry Harrison's army, who built Fort Meigs in the War of 1812.
Bowling Green is a city in and the county seat of Wood County, Ohio, United States, located 20 miles (32 km) southwest of Toledo. The population was 30,808 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Toledo metropolitan area and a member of the Toledo Metropolitan Area Council of Governments. Bowling Green is the home of Bowling Green State University.
Perrysburg is a city located in Wood County, Ohio, United States, along the south side of the Maumee River. The population was 25,041 at the 2020 census. Part of the Toledo metropolitan area, the city is 12 miles (19 km) southwest of Toledo. Perrysburg served as the county seat from 1822 to 1868, and although it is currently the second-largest city in Wood County after Bowling Green, it is one of the fastest growing cities in Northwest Ohio and now the largest suburb of Toledo.
Bowling Green State University (BGSU) is a public research university in Bowling Green, Ohio. The 1,338-acre (541.5 ha) main academic and residential campus is 15 miles (24 km) south of Toledo, Ohio. The university has nationally recognized programs and research facilities in the natural and social sciences, education, arts, business, health and wellness, humanities and applied technologies. The institution was granted a charter in 1910 as a normal school, specializing in teacher training and education. The university has developed from a small rural normal school into a comprehensive public research university. It is a part of University System of Ohio and classified among "R2: Doctoral Universities – High research activity".
WBGU is an American non-commercial, college radio station licensed to serve Bowling Green, Ohio, United States. The station, established in 1951, is owned and operated by Bowling Green State University.
WBGU-TV, virtual channel 27, is a Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) member television station licensed to Bowling Green, Ohio, United States.
Anderson Arena is an indoor arena located in Memorial Hall on the campus of Bowling Green State University in Bowling Green, Ohio, and is currently home to the Bowling Green Falcons women's gymnastics team. The arena, which opened in 1960, served as the home arena for the Bowling Green men's and women's basketball teams and women's volleyball team until 2011. Following their season finales in 2010 and 2011, the teams moved into the newly built Stroh Center on the east side of campus. It originally had a seating capacity of 4,700 people for basketball games. For gymnastics meets, the capacity is 2,800.
Perrysburg Township is one of the nineteen townships of Wood County, Ohio, United States. The 2020 census found 13,571 people in the township.
Middleton Township is one of the nineteen townships of Wood County, Ohio, United States. The 2020 census found 5,611 people in the township.
The Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum, subsequently the Weston State Hospital, was a Kirkbride psychiatric hospital that was operated from 1864 until 1994 by the government of the U.S. state of West Virginia, in the city of Weston. Weston State Hospital got its name in 1913 which was used while patients occupied it, but was changed back to its originally commissioned, unused name, the Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum, after being reopened as a tourist attraction.
Rossford High School is a public high school in Rossford, Ohio, United States. It is the only high school in the Rossford Exempted Village School District. The district mainly serves the city of Rossford and also includes parts of the city of Northwood, Perrysburg Township, and Lake Township within Wood County.
Joseph Edward Baird was a U.S. Representative from Ohio for one term from 1929 to 1931.
Bowling Green City Schools is a school district in northwest Ohio, the United States. The school district serves students who live in the city of Bowling Green located in Wood County including the villages of Portage, Rudolph, Sugar Ridge, Milton Center and Custar.
Rossford Public Schools is a school district in Northwest Ohio. The school district serves students who live in the communities of Rossford, Northwood, Perrysburg, Perrysburg Township, and Lake Township located in Wood County. The superintendent is Dan Creps.
The Wood County Courthouse and Jail, located in Bowling Green, Ohio, United States, is Wood County's third courthouse. It was built after citizens decided to move the county seat from Perrysburg to Bowling Green. Ground was broken on November 28, 1893, and the cornerstone was laid on July 4, 1894. The architectural firm of Yost & Packard of Columbus designed the courthouse and construction was overseen by T.B. Townsend of Youngstown. The winning tender for the project was $153,803 and the final construction costs totaled $255,746.
Wood County Airport is a county-owned, public-use airport located one nautical mile (1.85 km) northeast of the central business district of Bowling Green, in Wood County, Ohio, United States on the campus of Bowling Green State University. It is owned by the Wood County Airport Authority and is also known as Wood County Regional Airport (WCRA). As per the FAA's National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2009–2013, it is classified as a general aviation airport.
Lime City is an unincorporated community in Wood County, Ohio, United States. It is part of Perrysburg Township and located at the intersection of Lime City Road and U.S. Route 20. Lacking a post office, Lime City's zip code falls within Perrysburg's 43551.
The Royal Dundee Liff Hospital, previously known as Dundee Lunatic Asylum and Dundee Royal Lunatic Asylum, was a mental health facility originally established in 1812 in Dundee, Scotland. It was originally located in premises in Albert Street Dundee, but later moved out of the town to new buildings in the nearby parish of Liff and Benvie. Buildings at Liff included Greystanes House, which was the main building, and, Gowrie House, which was the private patients' facility. Both Grade B listed buildings.
The murder of Mary Bach was a prominent murder case that took place in Wood County, Ohio on October 10, 1881, when Mary Bach was stabbed to death by her husband, Carl Bach. Paraphernalia associated with the murder, including a jar containing three of Bach’s severed fingers, are currently on display at the Wood County Museum in Bowling Green, Ohio, where they have become a point of interest for regional tourism. In recent years, scholars have cited the murder as a case of historic domestic violence and femicide, and the display of Bach’s fingers and other objects associated with her killing have prompted conversations surrounding museum ethics.
Media related to Wood County Museum at Wikimedia Commons