When There Were Poor Houses

To prevent them from slipping into the void of abandoned history, When There Were Poor Houses describes the institutions--some highly visible and others lesser known in and near Niagara County--that provided some of the earliest organized care for the blind, deaf, sick, disabled, insane, and destitute. Niagara County, a typical rural county of New York State, serves as a historical model for study of the various institutions-the poorhouses, almshouses, sanatoriums, asylums, orphanages, pest houses, widows houses, hospitals, and special schools in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Our predecessors, however harsh and outmoded their care seems now, labored under and along with societal and cultural attitudes that mandated a sense of responsibility toward the needy in their midst. Their early efforts provided a foundation for many of the programs in New York State that offer progressive services to its citizens today.