In the legislature of
1806—7 Bucks county was represented by friends of the measure,
and on April 10, 1807, an act was passed authorizing the
erection of a county almshouse. The commissioners of Bucks, with
the consent of the court of quarter sessions and the grand jury,
were empowered to act. After determining upon the erection of an
almshouse, they were directed to authorize an election of seven
citizens, to fix upon a site for the purpose, and also an
election of three persons to be directors of the poor, who
should divide themselves into three classes with reference to
their term of office. They were to appoint a treasurer, employ
and dismiss at pleasure a steward, matron, physician, surgeon,
and any other necessary attendants; to indenture apprentices
till the time at which they should become of age, and exercise
all such powers as had previously been vested in the overseers
of the poor. Hilltown, New Britain, Plumstead, and all townships
below, were named in the bill; the others were exempted from its
provisions, but authorized to share in them by paying their
share of the cost of the house and farm. The matter passed the
several stages prescribed, and in October, 1807, the election
was held, resulting in the choice of Thomas Long, William
Buckman, David Spinner, William Watts, Thomas Stewart, Joseph
Clunn, and Samuel Gillingham to fix upon a site, and James
Chapman, John McMasters, and Ralph Stover as directors.
The election was closely
contested by a strong element opposed to the measure in itself
and to its ultimate bearing upon the change of the county-seat,
and after the election every possible effort was made to prevent
the purchase of a site. After a delay of fourteen months,
however, the commissioners for the location made choice of the
Gilbert Rodman tract of three hundred and sixty acres, situated
in Warwick, on the Easton road and the Neshaminy creek, which
was purchased at twenty pounds per acre. The selection and
purchase were severely criticized, and public meetings were
called to support or condemn it, but the court’s approval of the
purchase ended the contest, though the animosities engendered
lived long afterward.
Measures for the
erection of the building were at once taken. The counties of
Lancaster, Chester, and Delaware had erected similar
institutions, and McMasters and Chapman were dispatched to these
counties to glean such information as
would be useful in the construction of the proposed building.
They made a report on January 15, 1808, and on the following day
the proposals of mechanics were received. From the 25th to the
31st instant the board was in continuous session engaged in
preparing estimates and plans, and the contract was finally
awarded to Timothy Smith. Chapman and Smith then visited
Delaware county to examine the almshouse there and secure plans.
The stone was quarried upon the farm, and the men were
stimulated to their best endeavor by a half-barrel of whiskey
placed at their disposal by the directors. On the 21st of June
the directors went to New hope and purchased lumber of Hugh
Smith. Shingles were bought of Henry Bell, of Philadelphia, and
lime of Tyson Hill, and Samuel Gilbert. Building operations
began on the 4th of May, 1809, when the corner-stone was laid.
The character of the ceremonies is not known, but they doubtless
were of a hilarious order, as the directors and two other
equally benevolent gentlemen furnished the liquor at their
private expense. In fact, whiskey entered very largely into the
expense of construction, eight hundred and twenty-two gallons of
it being consumed by the workmen in the course of the building’s
erection. About one-fourth of this amount is itemized as
whiskey, at a cost of $94.77 1/2, the rest being conveniently
included in the general item of "diet." The aggregate cost of
the building was $19,030.47 1/2, to which the sum of $19,280
paid for the farm should be added, bringing the total to
$38,310.47 1/2. It was occupied on March 20, 1810, twenty-four
townships contributing one hundred and thirty-nine inmates. The
rest of the townships subsequently availed themselves of the
privileges of the act, and all now approve the wisdom of a
measure many once opposed. The almshouse is a stone structure
with two stories and an attic, and stands upon an eminence which
overlooks a wide scope of surrounding country, insuring good air
and the best facilities for drainage. The experience of some
three-quarters of a century has confirmed the claims originally
made in defense of the selection, save in the matter of the
water supply. A hydraulic ram was at first constructed to convey
water from the small tributary of the Neshaminy to the
buildings. This was found inadequate, and a number of wells were
dug. In 1875 a severe drouth affected the water supply of the
whole county, and a steam pump and a reservoir, with a capacity
of twenty-seven hundred barrels, were constructed by the
steward, at a cost of four or five thousand dollars. In 1881 an
artesian well was sunk, and the stream abandoned as a source of
supply for the buildings. The well has proven practically
successful, and the water is forced from thence by a steam pump
to all parts of the buildings.
The sick and insane here
have always been cared for in a separate building provided for
them. The old Rodman farm-house was converted into a hospital,
with a stone building furnished with cells for the worst cases
of insanity. Many of these, however, were subsequently
transferred to the state institutions. A new stone hospital, in
many respects patterned after a similar institution in Lancaster
county, was erected in 1868—9. It is a massive stone structure,
forty-five by one hundred and twenty feet in superficial
dimensions, four stories high, and contains sixty rooms. It is
provided with solid brick partition walls throughout; with water
and heating appliances, offices, kitchens, etc., of the most
approved kind. The
entire cost is estimated
at S144,001.70. In 1849 the cholera reached Bucks county, and in
July made its appearance at the alms-house with unusual
virulence. In less than a week eighteen cases had proven fatal,
and a dozen inmates were complaining with premonitory symptoms
of the dread disease. Naturally it was difficult to find any
brave enough to face this danger, and render such help as was
needed. Before the close of the second week eighty of the one
hundred and fifty-four occupants had perished. Medical aid was
then secured, and several gentlemen of the vicinity volunteered
their services. William Edwards, the steward, and his wife, both
died in the discharge of their duties, and the senior physician,
Dr. O.P. James, declared that nothing but the imperious demands
of duty sustained him in the terrible experiences of that time.
But one of the directors, William B. Warford, ventured to visit
the plague-stricken spot, and when he arrived more than forty
were dead or dying. The fear of contagion for a time stifled
every humane sentiment, and the unburied bodies were necessarily
permitted for too long a time to add their poisonous
contribution to the already heavily freighted air. No great
degree of censure is due for this state of things. In the
presence of such danger the simple performance of duty rises to
the height of heroism, and all cannot act the heroic part. The
general administration of this institution has been creditable
throughout its history. In 1819, when the ill-feeling engendered
by the erection of the almshouse, and the removal of the
county-seat was still active, a widespread disposition to
criticize the management of the public charity was developed. On
May 22d a meeting was held in the court house to discuss the
matter. The meeting was practically unanimous in its
condemnation of the administration, and a committee was
appointed to examine the condition and the methods employed in
conducting the institution. The result of the committee’s
exploration was rather inconclusive; in their report they
criticized the methods employed, but brought no charge of
culpable neglect or incompetency. In 1877 a commission was
appointed
to inquire into the
condition and conduct of the institution. They reported much to
the credit of the management, so far as the conduct of the
steward and his assistants were concerned, but seriously
reflected upon the financial policy of the directors. Many
practices that had come into use were condemned as irregular and
extravagant, and calling for immediate reform. The effect of
this examination and report was to bring about a radical change
in this respect, and it is believed that the institution is now
conducted as efficiently as any similar one in the state. In the
support of this charity the county has expended fully a million
dollars during the three-quarters of a century that it has
existed. Its present available assets may be estimated at two
hundred thousand dollars, and the balance of this large
expenditure must be accredited to the noble satisfaction of
having established and generously dispensed a great public
charity.
