Program

NYS Historic

Subject

Site

Location

457 US-44, Poughkeepsie, NY 12601, USA

Lat/Long

41.700373469652, -73.912578167573

Grant Recipient

Arlington High School

Opening in 1869, the Poughkeepsie Almshouse replaced an earlier almshouse that had burned down in a fire the year prior; luckily no lives were lost because of the accident as reported in the New-York Tribune, on Monday, February 10^th, 1868. Almshouses were meant to provide shelter and support to a community’s most at-risk and marginalized individuals, though conditions varied.

(For more information about almshouses, visit https://socialwelfare.library.vcu.edu/issues/poor-relief-almshouse/ which features an essay written by Dr. David Wagner, titled, “Poor Relief and the Almshouse” that details the history of almshouses in the United States.)

Following the fire, construction began on a new building for the Poughkeepsie Almshouse led by architect J. A. Wood. Page 210 of the Second Annual Report of the Board of the State Commissioners of Public Charities of the State of New York, published in 1869, details the work:

The old buildings are being replaced by a new one in process of construction, which will probably be completed in the course of the present year. The building is being constructed of brick, and  consists of a central part three stories, and two lateral wings each two stories in height above the basement, presenting a front of one hundred and forty-four, and a depth of fifty feet…Upon its completion, if the original design in arrangement and construction is fully carried out, without doubt the building will be one of the finest of its kind in the state.

In 1907, an infirmary was donated by William W. Smith to be added to the almshouse complex. Until closing in 1972, the structure remained in use for its original purpose of offering support to those in need.

The historical marker commemorating the history of the Poughkeepsie Almshouse and City Infirmary came about thanks to the students at Arlington High School, led by teacher Robert McHugh, who researched the history of the almshouse and successfully applied for grant funding for a historical marker through the Pomeroy Foundation.

Additional information about the Poughkeepsie Almshouse and City Infirmary can be found by accessing its nomination on the National Register of Historic Places: https://catalog.archives.gov/id/75317434