Program

NYS Historic

Subject

Government

Location

4222 Lakeville Rd, Geneseo, NY 14454, USA

Lat/Long

42.796679, -77.790607

Grant Recipient

Livingston County

County poorhouses were intended to provide care for orphans, the elderly, the mentally ill and individuals who were otherwise unable to work or care for themselves. Often situated on a large piece of land and farmed by the residents, poorhouses were relatively self-sufficient and provided its residents with food, shelter, clothes, and medical care. This was also true of the Livingston County poorhouse in Geneseo, NY.

Established in 1829, the first Livingston County poorhouse is believed to have been located on the south side of Route 20a. Gradually as the population of the county increased, the original poorhouse became inadequate to accommodate the growing number of impoverished residents. Between 1850 and 1879 a new county poorhouse was constructed along with a barn, stables, cow sheds, and several additional buildings. Around 1867 the poorhouse property experienced a devastating fire that destroyed multiple buildings. The superintendent of the poorhouse, George W. Barney, describes the events and reveals the extent of the damage in his 1868 report:

On the 6th day of February at 2 o’clock A.M. the frame building situated in the yard which was used in the lower story for the purpose of the school, Wash Hose and Shoe Shop, and about in the upper story as an Asylum for the Insane Females, was discovered to be on fire on the east side, by one of the Inmates of the Establishment who chanced to go down the yard at that hour. The fire having gained so much headway, and the want of water on the premises, prevented any effort being made to stay the conflagration. The whole of which with its contents were entirely consumed, with five of its inmates who perished in the flames.

Barney’s report also mentions a second fire that occurred that year:

The fire communicating destroyed the remainder of the farm buildings, comprising the Barn, Stables, Cow Sheds, Corn Crib, and Hog Pen: Together with about 80 Tons of Hay, a stack of Straw and 100,00 worth of Grain.

Despite these fires, the county poorhouse remained in use until 1964 when the remaining residents were moved into the new Livingston County Infirmary. While the farm buildings no longer exist, as of 2021, a few of the old county poorhouse buildings remain standing.