Cover, The Montgomery County Story, vol. 68, no. 2, Spring 2025
Just published! Part 1 of the history of the Montgomery County Poor Farm and Almshouse covering its origins through the end of the nineteenth century. Part 2 will be published in a few months.
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.
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.
On December 17, 2024, I gave a Zoom presentation on the Montgomery County Poor Farm and its Almshouse for Montgomery History. Almshouses were in some ways a precursor to the state hospitals for the mentally ill. Some of my ancestors were inmates of almshouses (also known as poor houses) in Connecticut and Rhode Island. This is a video of my talk.
