| | Manuscript Collection | Requires cookie* | | 1 | Title: | City Infirmary, Cleveland, Ohio, Records
| | | | Creator: | City Infirmary, Cleveland, Ohio | | | | Dates: | 1867-1876 | | | | Abstract: | The City Infirmary was established in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1855 to house and assist the poor, aged, mentally ill, and handicapped. The State of Ohio authorized county governments to build and administer poorhouses and infirmaries to provide long-term care for the poor and homeless in 1816. Cuyahoga County was the only county that did not establish a poorhouse, so Cleveland built a combined poorhouse/infirmary in 1827 behind Erie Street Cemetery that accepted referrals from throughout the county. As the population of Cleveland expanded rapidly, its City Council voted in 1849 for a tax levy to pay for a separate workhouse and infirmary. In 1855 the new City Infirmary was built on the site of the current Cleveland Metropolitan General Hospital. A few years later, Cleveland was experiencing the consequences of a national economic panic which included an influx of "inmates" to the City Infirmary that included newborn babies, the elderly, and the infirm. Immediately after the American Civil War, Ohio changed its infirmary law to require the election of infirmary directors and boards, thus injecting politics into the management of the City Infirmary. Cleveland's population doubled between 1860-1870, its economy rapidly industrialized, and its immigrant population increased dramatically. The City Infirmary cared for the poorest, most vulnerable citizens of Cleveland and Cuyahoga County during this era, including destitute individuals and families, the mentally ill, the aged, children too young to be apprenticed, alcoholics, and those suffering from mental and physical disabilities. During the 1870s, Cleveland was again mired in an economic panic that did not begin to ease until 1878. The City Infirmary again experienced a flood of impoverished and ill individuals and families seeking aid. Increasingly, those seeking help at the City Infirmary were recent immigrants to the United States, including Germans, Irish, and Eastern Europeans. At the turn of the century, the City Infirmary was transformed into Cooley Farms which became a national model for service delivery and rehabilitation. The collection consists of one intake ledger. | | | | Call #: | MS 5134 | | | | Extent: | 0.20 linear feet (1 container) | | | | Subjects: | Cleveland (Ohio). City Infirmary. | Hospitals -- Ohio -- Cleveland. | Public health -- Ohio -- Cleveland. | Medical care -- Ohio -- Cleveland. | Registers of births, etc. -- Ohio -- Cleveland. | Poor -- Ohio -- Cleveland | Elderly poor -- Ohio -- Cleveland. | Orphans -- Ohio -- Cleveland. | Homeless persons -- Ohio -- Cleveland. | Immigrants -- Ohio -- Cleveland. | Cleveland (Ohio) -- Genealogy.
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