Greene County Poor House
| Greene County Poor House | |
|---|---|
| Opened | 1842/1870/1939 |
| Closed | 1978 |
| Demolished | 2022 |
| Current Status | Demolished |
| Building Style | Single Building |
| Location | Carrollton, IL |
| Architecture Style | Italianate |
| Alternate Names |
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History[edit]
Greene County established its first almshouse, or poorhouse, about 10 miles west of the location of the final almshouse and the current Almshouse Cemetery and Memorial Park. Land was purchased just east of what was then Springfield’s eastern city limits, near Pickwick Avenue. There, a “substantial brick building” was erected and used as an almshouse in 1873. By 1890 the city had grown to include the location of the almshouse, and the property had increased in value. Also, the increasing number of residents had rendered the old building too small for their accommodation. The decision was made to build a new almshouse on property west of town on Division Street.
The News and Leader newspaper published a story in 1937 with photos that exposed the terrible conditions at the almshouse. The report refers to the almshouse as a “tumble-down, overcrowded, filthy firetrap which serves Greene County as an almshouse — where 135 men and women daily risk their lives by merely living.…” It also says Works Progress Administration (WPA) officials had approved plans to build a new almshouse the next year. The new building was completed in 1939.
This location would be used as an almshouse until 1978. When a resident died at this almshouse, he or she were sometimes buried in an unmarked grave in a pasture just north of the almshouse.
