Program

NYS Historic

Subject

Government

Location

2348 66, Ghent, NY 12075, USA

Lat/Long

42.331062, -73.613066

Grant Recipient

Town of Ghent

In 1829, John and Margaret Hogeboom sold approximately 200 acres of land in Ghent, New York to the Board of Supervisors of Columbia County, on which the county established a home for the sick and poor, at times referred to as a “poor house” or “almshouse.” At first, residents in the County Home included both white and African American men, women, and children. After New York State passed the Children’s Law of 1875, the facility no longer housed children and served as a home to adult residents only. The land around the County Home was farmed by the residents.

After opening a new facility, Columbia County closed the County Home in Ghent in 1953. The farm buildings and silos were sold by the county in 1955. In 1979, a fire destroyed the former home, which had then been operating as an inn and restaurant.