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the introduction of alternative forms of social assistance, its function shifted to the care of the elderly and infirmed and additions were built to respond to their special needs. Closed in 1971, this building, and its history, illustrate the
Victorian roots of the 20th-century social security system in Canada.
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was opened in 1877 and, over the years, housed approximately 1500 deserving poor, including those who were destitute, old and infirm, or disabled. The 60-bed house for inmates was surrounded by a 30-acre industrial farm with a barn for livestock that produced some of the food for the 70 residents and
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This is the earliest surviving example of an important 19th century institution, the government-supported poorhouse. Erected in 1877, it was the shelter of last resort for the homeless and destitute, who traded spartan accommodations for domestic or agricultural labour. With changing attitudes and
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The House of
Industry and the Bank Barn were built in 1877. The House of Industry and Refuge or "Poor House" provided a home for the "deserving poor" of Wellington County. The Barn and Industrial Farm were an important part of the House. The Farm grew produce and livestock to feed the inmates
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the staff and also provided work for them. Others worked in the House itself. A hospital was added in 1892. The nearby cemetery has 271 plots. In 1947, the House was converted into a home for the aged and in 1975 the building reopened as the
Wellington County Museum and Archives, one of the
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Most were working farms that produced at least some of the produce, grain, and livestock they consumed. Residents were expected to provide labor to the extent that their health would allow, both in the fields and in providing housekeeping and care for other residents. Rules were strict and
326:, "pauperism was considered a moral failing that could be erased through order and hard work". The oldest government-supported facility of this type that is still standing (now a museum), is located in the Southwestern-Ontarian hamlet of Aboyne between the larger, nearby communities of
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took effect in 1935, with most disappearing completely by about 1950. Since the 1970s, funding for the care, well-being and safety of the poor and indigent is now split among county, state and federal resources. Poor farms have been replaced by
188:, each parish would maintain its own workhouse; often these would be simple farms with the occupants dividing their time between working the farm and being employed on maintaining local roads and other parish works. An example of one such is
651:(residents) and staff at the House. The Farm also provided work or "industry" for the inmates. In the 19th century, Industrial Farms were a vital part of public institutions like hospitals, prisons, asylums and Houses of Refuge.
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Poor farms were based on the U.S. tradition of county governments (rather than cities, townships, or state or federal governments) providing social services for the needy within their borders. Following the 1854 veto of the
266:- or town-run residences where paupers (mainly elderly and disabled people) were supported at public expense. They were generally under the direction of one or more elected or appointed "Superintendent of the Poor."
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passed this act to attempt to cut expenditure on those in poverty, reduce the number of beggars on the street, and inspire lower-class people to work harder in order to better provide for themselves.
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on which able-bodied residents were required to work. A poorhouse could even be part of the same economic complex as a
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695:"Historical Plaques of Wellington County - Plaque 17, The Wellington County House of Industry and Refuge"
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774:- Life in a County Poorhouse, with a foreword by Theodore Dreiser. New York: Bony & Liveright.
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In the Shadow Of the
Poorhouse: A Social History Of Welfare In America
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Rothman, David J., (editor). "The
Almshouse Experience", in series
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and other penal or charitable public institutions. Poor farms were
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regime giving manual work to the indigent and subjecting them to
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533:"Poorhouses Were Designed to Punish People for Their Poverty"
200:), poverty was seen as a dishonourable state. As depicted by
665:"Meet the ghosts of Wellington County's Poor House in Elora"
184:" has been the more common term. Before the introduction of
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Murals in workroom of the New York City Farm Colony, 1938
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Workhouses in and around Bures, Suffolk, by Alan Beales
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New York City Farm Colony "inmates" at meal time, 1904
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Concrete Sewer Blocks made at the
Halifax Poor Asylum
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People queuing at S. Marylebone workhouse circa 1900
60:. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.
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372:Male Pauper Barracks in St. Louis Poor House,1904
360:Women and children in St. Louis Poor House, 1904
781:The Poorhouse: America's Forgotten Institution
336:Wellington County House of Industry and Refuge
285:The poor farms declined in the U.S. after the
823:/ by Kansas Emergency Relief Committee (1935)
816:McLean County, Illinois Poor Farm Finding Aid
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593:"When 'poorhouse' wasn't only an expression"
276:Bill for the Benefit of the Indigent Insane
663:Fergus-Elora News Express (July 5, 2016).
384:German Poor house, 1854 - The Garden Arbor
27:Facility providing housing for poor people
633:. Wellington County, Ontario. June 2013.
120:Learn how and when to remove this message
699:Historical Plaques of Wellington County
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758:Poverty U.S.A.: The Historical Record
705:from the original on January 12, 2017
631:Wellington County Museum and Archives
208:, often housing whole families, or a
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531:Blakemore, Erin (January 30, 2018).
58:adding citations to reliable sources
671:. Hamilton, Ontario. Archived from
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140:is a government-run (usually by a
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590:Tyler, Tracey (January 3, 2009).
456:Five Nations Poor House, ca. 1918
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192:in East Sussex. In the early
821:A study of Kansas poor farms
784:. Rowman & Littlefield.
219:Poor Law Amendment Act 1834
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241:in Virginia, United States
239:Frederick County Poor Farm
732:Katz, Michael B. (1996).
503:"Poorhouses in Scotland"
270:accommodations minimal.
298:public housing projects
778:Wagner, David (2005).
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770:Sweeney, Ed. (1927).
566:The National Archives
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701:. Wayne Cook. 2015.
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288:Social Security Act
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176:(but not in
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52:Please help
47:verification
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740:Basic Books
600:. Toronto.
260:prison farm
206:reformatory
69:"Poorhouse"
18:Poor houses
852:Workhouses
847:Poor farms
831:Categories
576:2020-11-19
547:2021-04-21
517:2011-12-13
489:References
230:Poor farms
152:Workhouses
110:March 2011
80:newspapers
709:March 13,
679:March 13,
669:Spectator
644:March 13,
608:March 13,
468:Almshouse
302:Section 8
256:poor farm
182:workhouse
138:workhouse
134:poorhouse
760:, 1971.
703:Archived
635:Archived
602:Archived
570:Archived
541:Archived
511:Archived
462:See also
296:such as
198:Poor Law
178:Scotland
857:Poverty
537:HISTORY
347:Gallery
250:In the
174:Ireland
166:England
94:scholar
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334:. The
328:Fergus
318:Canada
312:Canada
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638:(PDF)
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332:Elora
196:(see
170:Wales
101:JSTOR
87:books
786:ISBN
762:ISBN
744:ISBN
711:2017
681:2017
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330:and
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