From 1789 through 1948, the Montgomery County Poor Farm and Almshouse were part of the county’s program to assist the poor. It was the last resort for people with no money, no home, and no family or social network to support them. Poor people ended up there for various reasons, such as being too old or sick to care for themselves, suffering mental illness or intellectual disability, or enduring physical disability, blindness, or deafness. The Almshouse was also intended to be a place of work for able-bodied poor people who were sent there by the county court or who went there on their own.
Part 2 of this two-part history covers the long and difficult transition from the outdated “poor farm” model of care for the indigent poor and mentally ill, to equally problematic state hospitals and care facilities, spurred on by the efforts of early social reform and welfare groups throughout Montgomery County and the state of Maryland.