The Wood County Museum, located in

Bowling Green, Ohio Bowling Green is a city in and the county seat of Wood County, Ohio, United States, located southwest of Toledo. The population was 30,028 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Toledo Metropolitan Area and a member of the Toledo Metropolitan Ar ...

, 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.

History

Infirmary

The main Infirmary building was built in 1868. 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. The Infirmary opened in 1869 where it also operated as a

Poor Farm A poorhouse or workhouse is a government-run (usually by a county or municipality) facility to support and provide housing for the dependent or needy. Workhouses In England, Wales and Ireland (but not in Scotland), ‘workhouse’ has been th ...

, giving it a degree of

self sufficiency Self-sustainability and self-sufficiency are overlapping states of being in which a person or organization needs little or no help from, or interaction with, others. Self-sufficiency entails the self being enough (to fulfill needs), and a self-s ...

. The presence of an Infirmary in Bowling Green was a contributing factor that helped it gain status as

County Seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US ...

instead of

Perrysburg, Ohio 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 southwest of Toledo. Perrysburg is the ...

. In 1885 a Lunatic House was built on the grounds to house the mentally ill. Many of the first residents to live there had been moved from prior quarters in the waterlogged basement of a jail in Perrysburg, Ohio. Treatments prescribed included fresh air,

Laudanum Laudanum is a tincture of opium containing approximately 10% powdered opium by weight (the equivalent of 1% morphine). Laudanum is prepared by dissolving extracts from the opium poppy (''Papaver somniferum Linnaeus'') in alcohol (ethanol). R ...

with Mercury and

Alcohol Alcohol most commonly refers to: * Alcohol (chemistry), an organic compound in which a hydroxyl group is bound to a carbon atom * Alcohol (drug), an intoxicant found in alcoholic drinks Alcohol may also refer to: Chemicals * Ethanol, one of sev ...

added, and

Herbal medicine Herbal medicine (also herbalism) is the study of pharmacognosy and the use of medicinal plants, which are a basis of traditional medicine. With worldwide research into pharmacology, some herbal medicines have been translated into modern remedie ...

. The Lunatic House ceased operations in the 1930s, when it was converted to serve as a hospital and

dormitory A dormitory (originated from the Latin word ''dormitorium'', often abbreviated to dorm) is a building primarily providing sleeping and residential quarters for large numbers of people such as boarding school, high school, college or universi ...

for families during the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

. By 1898 the east and central wings of the infirmary were condemned and rebuilt. 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. In the 1920s the director of the Infirmary hand built a

stone wall Stone walls are a kind of masonry construction that has been used for thousands of years. The first stone walls were constructed by farmers and primitive people by piling loose field stones into a dry stone wall. Later, mortar and plaster ...

around the site. From 1935 on, the Infirmary shifted operations to be closer to a

nursing home A nursing home is a facility for the residential care of elderly or disabled people. Nursing homes may also be referred to as skilled nursing facility (SNF) or long-term care facilities. Often, these terms have slightly different meanings to i ...

. The Paupers Cemetery contains at least 355 burials. Removal of the

headstone A headstone, tombstone, or gravestone is a stele or marker, usually stone, that is placed over a grave. It is traditional for burials in the Christian, Jewish, and Muslim religions, among others. In most cases, it has the deceased's name, ...

s to make mowing the lawn easier made identification difficult.

Museum

On 1971 the Infirmary closed its doors and residents were moved to a new location. Between 1971 and 1974 the vacant building was heavily vandalized. Lyle Fletcher, a local historian and director of the city parks convinced the county commissioners to save the building. By spring 1975 the building opened as the Wood County Museum. As of 2018 the complex was one of the few preserved poor houses remaining in Ohio. The building was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

in 1979. The Museum was shown on WBGU-TV program Scenic Stop, which premiered December 6, 2012.

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 A pest house, plague house, pesthouse or fever shed was a type of building used for persons afflicted with communicable diseases such as tuberculosis, cholera, smallpox or typhus. Often used for forcible quarantine, many towns and cities had one ...

to isolate men with communicable diseases such as

scarlet fever Scarlet fever, also known as Scarlatina, is an infectious disease caused by '' Streptococcus pyogenes'' a Group A streptococcus (GAS). The infection is a type of Group A streptococcal infection (Group A strep). It most commonly affects chi ...

and

influenza Influenza, commonly known as "the flu", is an infectious disease caused by influenza viruses. Symptoms range from mild to severe and often include fever, runny nose, sore throat, muscle pain, headache, coughing, and fatigue. These symptom ...

, a hog barn and an ice house.

Mary Bach

The museum hosts the fingers of Mary Bach, who was murdered in October of 1881. The fingers were kept as

evidence Evidence for a proposition is what supports this proposition. It is usually understood as an indication that the supported proposition is true. What role evidence plays and how it is conceived varies from field to field. In epistemology, evidenc ...

and preserved in

whisky Whisky or whiskey is a type of distilled alcoholic beverage made from fermented grain mash. Various grains (which may be malted) are used for different varieties, including barley, corn, rye, and wheat. Whisky is typically aged in wooden ca ...

before being transferred to a

formalin Formaldehyde ( , ) ( systematic name methanal) is a naturally occurring organic compound with the formula and structure . The pure compound is a pungent, colourless gas that polymerises spontaneously into paraformaldehyde (refer to section F ...

solution, and later to a contemporary preservation scheme in 2015.

Gallery

File:Early_Derrick.jpg, Oil Derrick File:Wood County, Ohio Pest House.jpg, Pest House File:Lunatic House.jpg, Lunatic House File:Hog Barn.jpg, The hog barn File:Wood_County_Historical_Center_Log_Cabin.jpg, Log Cabin

References

External links

Official SiteWood County Historical Center on Scenic Stops
{{coord, 41.350833, -83.616944, format=dms, display=title, type:landmark_region:US-OH Museums in Wood County, Ohio History museums in Ohio Hospital buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Ohio Psychiatric hospitals in Ohio Bowling Green, Ohio 1868 establishments in Ohio Defunct hospitals in Ohio Reportedly haunted locations in Ohio