History of the Montgomery County Poor Farm and Almshouse

Cover, The Montgomery County Story, vol. 68, no. 2, Spring 2025
Cover, The Montgomery County Story, vol. 68, no. 2, Spring 2025

Just published! Parts 1  and 2 of the history of the Montgomery County Poor Farm and Almshouse.

For nearly 160 years, the Almshouse at the Montgomery County Poor Farm was the last resort for poor people who were unable to take care of themselves due to physical, mental, and developmental disabilities. A look at some of their stories, including how they lived and died, sheds a light on conditions there. Despite the oversight of county officials and the efforts of reformers, the Almshouse was a place where the poor were neglected, abused, and exposed to unsafe conditions until it closed in 1948.

DOWNLOAD PARTS 1 AND 2:

The Montgomery County Poor Farm & Almshouse: Its History and People. Part 1: Origins through the Nineteenth Century

The Montgomery County Poor Farm & Almshouse: Its History and People. Part 2: The Poor Farm in the 20th Century