USA > Ohio > Greene County > History of Greene County, Ohio: its people, industries and institutions, Volume I > Part 15
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moval of the market house. Apparently out of pique the commissioners de- cided to locate the site for the new jail on the public square. This order was not passed unanimously, for one of the board, Robert Jackson, maintained that the jail should not be erected as the commissioners ordered, but he added that the city council should be forced to remove the market house. The intention of the commissioners was not carried out, because they and the city council got together on February 8, 1860, and the latter assented to remove the market house; however the record does not reveal whether or not the commissioners gave the council assurance that the site for the new jail would be located on the public square.
After the altercation with the city council was settled, the commission- ers found resistance coming from another quarter. On March 9, 1860, two petitions against the jail were read at a meeting of the board. The first one was in opposition to the change of the site of the county jail, because, in the first place, the building should be convenient to the court house, and in the second place, because the purchase of another site would create a need for additional taxes. The second petition was not only opposed to the change of site, but also to the erection of a new jail. These latter petitioners were not in favor of a new jail, declaring that there was no necessity for it and also that it would create the need of additional taxes "at a time when the burthen is sufficient onerous." The commissioners could not entertain these petitions, since they thought that the ruling motive for submitting these pe- titions was the fear of additional taxes. They declared this position was untenable because the new site and the erection of the new jail would be paid for out of the railroad dividend fund. They also felt that the fact that the grand jury had declared the old jail was a nuisance was sufficient ground for the erection of a new jail.
At last on March 13, 1860, the commissioners, having determined defi- nitely upon locating the new jail off the public square, bought from James McCarty the north half of in-lot No. 64, on the south side of Market street, for nine hundred and fifty dollars. This lot is sixty-six feet wide and eighty- two and one-half feet deep. This location did not please some of the women residents of the city who framed a petition against the action of the board. They felt that the influence of taking prisoners to and from the jail along Market street to the court house would be bad and unsightly. The ladies did not present the petition in person but placed it in the hands of John Alexander to submit to the board. Anticipating this same condition, the commissioners had already bought additional land so located that a passage way from the jail to the court house would open on Greene street. This tract was a part of lot No. 64, fronting on Whiteman street, and was sixty- six feet wide and eighty-two and one-half feet deep, having a thirty-three
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foot front on Greene street. This land was purchased from Samuel Crum- baugh on April 4, 1860, for thirteen hundred and fifty dollars. On April 17, a part of this last realty acquisition, forty-two by sixty-seven feet on the southeast corner, was sold to David Rader. On this date John B. Gowdy, David Rader and George F. Payne were allowed the use of this alley to the jail from Greene street. This passage off Greene street is still in use.
THE BUILDING OF THE JAIL.
Bids for the erection of the new jail were ordered to be advertised for, March 13, 1860, and on April 16 the construction of the building was let to John Scott. The building, which included the sheriff's residence as well as the jail, was to be of brick. It was turned over to the sheriff on December 8, 1860. During the time in which the jail was in the process of construc- tion, a temporary place for the lodgment of prisoners had to be provided and a "lock-up" was built by the city of Xenia aided by the county.
At first the jail lot was inclosed partly by a picket fence and partly by a closed one. These were built by Norris & Miller for eighty-eight dollars and sixty-seven cents. They were torn down later and in their stead on the north and east was placed a part of the old iron fence which was taken down from around the court house in 1891. On October 4, 1875, the building of a stable for the use of the sheriff was let to J. M. and W. Rader and Samuel Peterson. This structure, which was made of brick, was twenty-five by forty-nine feet. Its total cost was somewhat in excess of six hundred dollars.
RULES FOR THE USE OF THE JAIL.
After the new jail was turned over to the sheriff on December 8, 1860, the commissioners drafted a set of rules governing the use of the building and its inmates and these rules were enforced on January 1, 1861. The first one determined the parts of the building which should be used by different kinds of prisoners. The cells on the balcony in the west hall were designed for the confinement of female prisoners; also the balcony and room at the head of the box staircase, extending from the jailor's office. The east hall and cells were designed for prisoners who were charged with more serious crimes and the west hall and cells below the balcony for those charged with lesser misdemeanors. The second rule had to do with the care of the build- ing. Every four months the entire inside walls of the jail were to be white- washed, but the iron work was to receive no coat of calcimine. Each cell in the prison during its period of occupancy had to be cleaned thoroughly every two weeks. The third and last rule, determined among other things that the prisoners, who were well behaved, would be permitted the use of the halls in the day time, but each one had to be locked in his cell at eight o'clock in the evening.
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At this time (1918) this jail, which was finished in 1860, is doing good service. It has been kept in a good state of repair and it bids fair to be a place for the lodgment of the county's prisoners for several years to come.
THE GREENE COUNTY INFIRMARY.
In the first twenty-five years of the existence of the state the principles followed in caring for the poor and destitute were not at all in accordance with the methods now in use. It was the practice in those days for some landowner or the operator of a woolen mill or some other industry to engage the services of the unfortunates in their service by making application to the township trustees. The unfortunate was then bound out to the lowest bid- der, for there was some competition among landowners and the like for his service, because pauper labor was very cheap. After the pauper entered the service of the successful applicant, it was the duty of the latter to feed, clothe and otherwise care for his charge. It did not always follow that the owner of the services of the pauper was strict in performing his part of the con- tract. This arrangement was not entirely in accordance with the democratic feelings of the West, but the practice had grown up in the eastern part of the country, which section had copied the system from England, where there. were until the thirties the most atrocious "poor laws."
As the years passed and the ebb and flow of emigration passed over the state of Ohio, a more democratic spirit permeated the residents of this sec- tion which caused the people to look with disfavor upon the promiscuous binding out of indigents without hedging about the binding-out with suffi- cient safeguards to the pauper. At the same time with the increase in pop- ulation, the number of destitute persons increased and it became apparent that proper and more satisfactory measures must be taken to provide for the comfort and care of paupers. To this end a bill "for the establishment of county poor houses" was passed by the General Assembly, which pro- vided that any county having within its borders a sufficient number of pau- pers was empowered to purchase grounds, whereon suitable buildings were to be erected, to which all the infirm and needy ones were to be admitted. Thus the old vicious system of indiscriminately selling the services of in- digents by civil authority was abolished throughout the state.
THE BINDING OUT OF A PAUPER.
This did not mean that the practice of giving indigent children into the hands of persons to rear and teach an occupation ceased. Even nowadays that is done. At the meeting of the infirmary directors on February 8, 1839, the following was spread upon the minutes of the board :
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The Board met at the House of John Ankeney, present were Samuel Crumbaugh, Sam- uel Gowdy and John Ankeney, to bind out William K. Ross, who was a pauper, to John Little, to learn the art of farming. The aforesaid William K. Ross will be eight years old the 14th day of July, next. The said William K. Ross is to serve until he arrives at the age of twenty-one years, and the said John Little agrees to teach the said William all the arts and occupations of a farmer, and at the expiration of his term of service, agrees to give the said William a new Bible, a horse worth fifty dollars, and a new saddle and bridle and a frecdom suit.
On the same day the board bound out James Ross, aged nine years, who was the brother of William, to John Strothers to learn the art of wagon- making and farming; and they also agreed to bind out Malinda Ross, who was fourteen years of age, to Brinton Baker.
Soon after the act of the Legislature granting counties the right to establish county infirmaries, the board of commissioners for Greene county ordered the purchase of land for this purpose. The tract decided upon lay on the Dayton pike, one and one-half miles west of Xenia. The record of the meeting of the board of commissioners for June 6, 1828, includes the fol- lowing :
The Board this day closed a contract and received a deed from Samuel Crumbaugh for . 104.41 acres of land for the purpose of erecting a poor house on for the use of the County, for which they pay out of the County Treasury seven hundred dollars, four hundred of which is to be paid in hand and the balance to be paid on, or before, the 25th of January, next, possession to be given the first of April, next.
This tract lies on both sides of the road, which divides it into two parts almost equal in size. On June 26, 1829, the contract for the building of the first infirmary building was let to George W. Stipp at four hundred ninety dollars and fifty cents. The building was of brick, sixty feet long, sixteen feet wide and one story high with a ceiling eight feet high. The site chosen lies north of the Dayton pike, just north of the small brook which flows across the northern and eastern portions of the county farm, and immedi- ately to the rear of the site of the old building which was used for the Chil- dren's Home before the present beautiful structure was erected for that pur- pose. At first sight it might seem strange that such a remote spot should be chosen for the building, but its location was due to the fact that water could be obtained here in abundance and with convenience. In 1830 a spring house and smoke house were erected near the main building at a cost of fifty-four dollars and fifty cents and were accepted on August 31, 1830.
EARLY MEETINGS OF THE DIRECTORS.
On the same date that the contract for the erection of the infirmary building was let, June 26, 1828, the county commissioners elected George Townsley, William McKnight and George Galloway as directors of the in- firmary. The first meeting of the board of directors occurred on February
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13, 1829, and George Townsley was chosen clerk and was appointed to go to Dayton to see how paupers were cared for there. He soon returned with the necessary information and was further delegated by the board to draw up rules and regulations which should govern the infirmary. When finished, this document contained thirteen articles, one of which follows:
He [the superintendent] shall attend all the regular meals and see that the people behave themselves orderly; that they do not begin to eat or to help themselves or each other, but wait in silence until a blessing is asked, if there is any person present who will perform that duty, and after the meal is finished wait in the same respectful manner that thanks may be returned for the mercies extended. He shall take care that the victuals be well and seasonably dressed; that the rooms be swept out and the beds be made every day, necessary for comfort and health; that the straw in the beds. be changed once a month in the summer season, and that the house and tenants be kept clean from vermin; that the people be clean and decent in their clothes and have clean linen to shift once a week.
On February 19, 1829, the directors advertised for a person to serve as superintendent of the infirmary, and at the same meeting each director was assigned townships in which he was to ascertain the number of paupers. At the meeting on "March 13, 1829, William Ellis, a Quaker, was appointed superintendent with a salary of two hundred and fifty dollars a year, and he was ordered, after signing his name to the rules and regulations as given above, to "provide for the use of the institution four short-posted bedsteads and cords, also three feather beds and one of chaff or straw; three blankets for each bed; two pillows and a bolster for each; and four extra pillows; also four underbeds of tow linen filled with straw or chaff; also four pair andirons; also one large square table and one small one; also three arm chairs, plain, split-bottom." At the same time Ellis reserved the right to send his children to school, four at a time for three months, since he was the father of seven children at that time.
THE SECOND INFIRMARY BUILDING.
As the population of the county increased, the number of inmates of the county infirmary grew so large that a more commodious building became necessary in which to house them. In 1840 the original building was torn down and a new brick structure, forty feet wide, one hundred feet long and two stories high, was erected just in front of the site of the old building. In 1859 a wing was added to the east end of the building, the improvement costing $1,831.50, of which $657 was paid to William Sheppard for the car- penter work and painting and $1,174.50 to Aniel Rogers for the brick and stone work. Sometime afterward a small building for the housing of in- sane inmates was built a few paces to the east of the main structure. By this time the management of the infirmary, which had been efficient, had brought the greater part of the farm under cultivation.
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THE PRESENT BUILDING.
The constant increase in the number of inmates made the second in- firmary building inadequate, and in view of this fact a new, and the latest building for this purpose, was erected in 1869 on that part of the county farm across the Dayton pike. This building is one hundred and fifty feet long, fifty feet wide and contains three stories and a basement. The cost of this building, the outbuildings and steam fixtures was seventy-five thousand dollars. Sometime later a wing was added to the south side of the building to provide a place for the lodgment of insane inmates and the old structure which was erected across the road for this purpose in 1840 was made into a chapel and school house for the Greene County Children's Home. This wing is not now used for the housing of insane inmates who can be quickly taken to state institutions. The infirmary is well fitted for the care of the county's unfortunates, having a sufficient number of baths and other conveniences. The building is steam heated, and in summer the broad lawn in front of the building is beautifully kept and studded with beds of beautiful flowers. The present superintendent and matron of the infirmary are Matthias S. Smith and wife, who have served in these respective capacities since 1915.
INFIRMARY SUPERINTENDENTS.
Since the establishment of the county infirmary several men have served in the capacity of superintendent. The early superintendents were William Ellis, 1828-31; William McIntosh, 1831-33; R. T. Marshall, 1833- 34; John Crowl, 1834-38; John Gibson, 1838-41, and John Bowers, 1841- 46. Among the latter ones are Jonathan Adams, John Gibson, William Mayner, George Barnes, H. Gram, John R. Sutton and Matthias S. Smith, the present superintendent.
PRESENT MANAGEMENT OF THE INFIRMARY.
Up to the year 1913 the affairs of the county infirmary had been ad- ministered by infirmary directors who were elected by the people for three- year terms, one member of the three being chosen each year, but the Gen- eral Assembly of the state in 1910 passed a law abolishing the office and placing the duties upon the county commissioners. The commissioners assumed control of the infirmary on January 2, 1913, after the retiring directors. The commissioners in the capacity of infirmary directors now hold meetings for the administration of the affairs of this institution regu- larly each month, when they carefully examine the conditions of the infirm- ary and the inmates, the manner in which they are fed, and clothed. They also ascertain what labor the inmates are required to perform and the com- missioners also inspect the books and accounts of the superintendent.
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PRESENT CONDITION OF THE INFIRMARY.
In 1917 the total population of the infirmary during the year was 142, of which IIO were male and 32 female. The number remaining at the close of the year was 77, with 59 males and 18 females. The total expense of maintaining the institution, including out-door relief, for the year was $16,354.96 and the total receipts from the production of the farm amounted to $2,425.52. The amount then used from the county poor fund for the infirmary was $13,929.44. The average cost per week for each inmate during 1917 was approximately $3.77. The area of the farm has not been increased over the extent of the original tract, and the number of acres now under cultivation is eighty-five. The value of the land, buildings, furnish- ings, machinery, live stock, implements and other property is estimated at $73,000. The infirmary is capable of accommodating one hundred inmates. As a matter of comparison, it is of interest to note the expenditures tor poor relief in the county in 1840. This report of the directors of the in- firmary, dated June 1, 1840, is the earliest one found. There was expended for paupers in the infirmary, $342.1414; for outside relief, $110; for trans- porting paupers to the poor house, $47.75; for the salary of the superin- tendent, John Gibson, $350. The total expenditure for that year was $847.891/4.
THE COUNTY POOR FUND.
The indigent residents of the county cost the taxpayers a large sum annually for out- and indoor relief. The county levy for purposes of poor relief during 1917 was twenty-five hundredths of one mill. The total tax and the balance from 1916 was $25,835.40 and the total amount paid out during the year was $21,960.93. The balance to be carried forward to the year 1918 is $3,874.47.
THE GREENE COUNTY CHILDREN'S HOME.
After the completion of the present infirmary building the old structure on the north side of the Dayton pike was occupied by the colored indigents of the county for several years. But in 1880 the board of directors decided to transfer all the colored adults to the main building and lodge the children in the quarters in the old building thus vacated. Before this action of the board the children were lodged along with the adults, but this condition was far from satisfactory. The aim in caring for indigent children it was held, should be not only to satisfy their physical needs, but also to surround them with such influences that they might be good citizens on reaching maturity. This then accounts for the action of the board in establishing the children's home.
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THE FIRST CHILDREN'S HOME.
The building which served as the first Greene County Children's Home was erected in 1840 to be used as the infirmary. Before the building was occupied by the children, several changes were made in its arrangement and equipment to suit the needs of the incoming occupants. The basement was used for a bakery and store room. On the first floor were located the kitchen, the dining room, which had a seating capacity of forty, the matron's apart- ments, the reception room and the lodging rooms of the inmates. On the second floor were the children's dormitories. The first matron was Mrs. E. Bryant, the widow of Reverend Bryant, the first colored Baptist minister to occupy a pulpit in Xenia. East of the main building was the old struc- ture, two stories in height, which was used for insane inmates of the in- firmary. This building was made over into school rooms and a chapel. The school rooms occupied the lower floor and in the upper story religious services were held every Sabbath. This building burned in 1891. The old infirmary building which was used as the first children's home remained stand- ing until after the present building was turned over to the trustees in 1912. It was first thought that the old building would be used as a hospital, but it was finally torn down.
THE PRESENT CHILDREN'S HOME.
This is a beautiful buff-colored, pressed-brick structure, located near the Dayton & Xenia traction line, a short distance northeast of the infirm- ary. It is a credit to the county and it speaks well for the philanthropic atti- tude of the community, which is expressed in such a sensible, fitting and lasting manner.
It had been known for several years that there was a pressing need in the county for a modern children's home. As was said before, the first build- ing had been erected in 1840 and was sadly out of date and, from its very nature, presented little opportunity for improvement. Hence the commis- sioners decided in 1910 to erect a new children's home which would be mod- ern in every detail. The first appropriation of twenty-five thousand dol- lars was made in that year for the new building, and to do this it was found necessary to transfer $9,181.45 from the tuberculosis-hospital fund to the children's-home fund. The contract for the excavation of the basement and the building of the foundation was let to the Dice Brothers on July 1, 1910, and the work was begun shortly afterward. Later the same firm was suc- cessful in getting the contract for the erection of the house for $25,810. This amount, with the $3,790 for heating and ventilation and other appro- priations for other details in the construction and furnishing, brought the entire cost of the home well over the thirty-thousand-dollar mark. The
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building was finally completed in the early part of 1912 and was turned over to the trustees of the home on February 2, 1912.
Not only has this building a very pleasing exterior, but it is modern in every respect, containing a school room, airy dormitories and all the neces- sary appurtenances of a modern children's home. The present matron of the home is Miss Mary H. Bankerd, under whose careful management the insti- tution thoroughly performs the work for which it was intended.
This institution is under the control of four trustees appointed by the county commissioners. At first the appointment was for three years, but later the tenure was extended to four years, its present length. One mem- ber of the board is retired each year, thus insuring at least three old mem- bers on the board. They receive no salary. The members of the present board of trustees are A. S. Frazer, Grant Miller, W. W. Ferguson and O. E. Bradfute.
THE BLIND OF GREENE COUNTY.
One of the striking evidences of the manner in which the people of Ohio care for those who are so unfortunate as not to be able to care for themselves is seen in the provision for the care and maintenance of the blind. From the earliest period of the state's existence local authorities have provided for the poor and needy and during the time which has elapsed since the organization of the state numerous laws have been enacted for the care of all dependents, delinquents and defectives.
The present method of caring for the blind dates from April 2, 1908, at which time the Legislature passed a bill providing for pensions for all so afflicted. The pension is granted after an investigation by proper authori- ties shows that the person seeking the pension is justly entitled to it. When a blind person enters the county infirmary the pension automatically ceases. The county is made the unit for the distribution of the fund which is pro- vided by a direct tax assessed for the purpose. The county commissioners are authorized to levy a special tax not exceeding two-tenths of one mill on the dollar, the same to be collected and levied as are the other taxes of the county.
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