Wood County Museum facts for kids
 |
|
| Former name | Wood County Infirmary |
|---|---|
| Established | 1975 (Museum) |
| Location | 13660 County Home Road, Bowling Green, Ohio |
| Type | History museum |
The Wood County Museum is in Bowling Green, Ohio. It used to be a place called the Wood County Infirmary. People also knew it as the Wood County Home or the Poor Farm. This building was a home for people in Wood County who were poor, had mental health challenges, had physical disabilities, or needed public help.
Contents
History of the Wood County Site
The Infirmary Building
| Wood County Infirmary | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Geography | |
| Location | Bowling Green, Ohio, United States |
| History | |
| Closed | 1971 |
The main Infirmary building was built in 1868. It opened in 1869. The State of Ohio had rules for how it should be built. These rules made sure people had enough space, healthy food, and clean clothes.
The Infirmary also worked as a Poor Farm. This meant it grew its own food and was somewhat self-sufficient. Having the Infirmary in Bowling Green helped the town become the County Seat instead of Perrysburg, Ohio.
Care for Mental Health
In 1885, a special building was added for people with mental health challenges. Many of the first people who lived there had been in a wet basement of a jail in Perrysburg. Doctors tried different treatments, like fresh air and herbal medicines. This building stopped being used for mental health care in the 1930s. It then became a hospital and a place for families to live during the Great Depression.
Changes Over Time
By 1898, parts of the Infirmary building were old and needed to be rebuilt. Oil wells on the property provided heating and lighting until 1904. In the 1920s, the director of the Infirmary built a stone wall around the property by hand. From 1935 on, the Infirmary started to work more like a nursing home.
There is a cemetery on the grounds called the Paupers Cemetery. It has at least 355 burials. These are people who could not afford a private burial. It is hard to know who is buried there because the headstones were removed to make mowing easier.
The Museum Opens
In 1971, the Infirmary closed its doors. The people living there moved to a new place. Between 1971 and 1974, the empty building was damaged by vandals.
Lyle Fletcher, a local historian, helped save the building. He convinced the county leaders to keep it. By spring 1975, the building opened as the Wood County Museum. As of 2018, it was one of the few old poor houses still standing in Ohio. The Museum was even featured on a TV show called Scenic Stop in 2012.
What You Can See at the Museum
The Museum has more than 30 exhibits. They teach you about the building's history and the history of Wood County.
Other Buildings on the Grounds
There are several other buildings at the museum. These include a pest house, which was used to keep people with diseases like scarlet fever and influenza separate. There is also a hog barn and an ice house.
Gallery
-
Oil Derrick
-
Pest House
-
Lunatic House
-
The hog barn
-
Log Cabin
