Athens County Poorhouse Directors

The Athens county poorhouse was located in Chauncey, Dover township. The below information was compiled by WPA workers in the 1930's who were hired to do an inventory of the county poorhouse.

INVENTORY OF THE COUNTY ARCHIVES OF OHIO
NO. 5. ATHENS COUNTY (ATHENS)
Prepared by
The Historical Records Survey
Division of Professional and Service Projects
Work Projects Administration
Columbus, Ohio
The Historical Records Survey
May 1939
3 1466 00270 4217

The Athens county poorhouse was established in 1857 by the county commissioners, acting under authority granted them by the legislative act of 1816 which gave them the power to purchase land and construct poorhouses in which to care for the county’s indigent. By the same act the commissioners were authorized to appoint annually a board of seven directors which was authorized to make rules and regulations for the management of the institution and to appoint a superintendent. Accordingly, in 1857, the county commissioners purchased a farm of one hundred and forty seven acres in Dover township near Chauncey. The old farm buildings were remodeled and used for the purposes of the home until they were destroyed by fire in 1903. Temporary quarters were constructed for use until the modern buildings, now in use, were completed.

Infirmary Directors*		pages 240 & 241
George I. Gould 1858-1861 Ziba Lindley 1859-1862		Ezra Goodspeed 1860-1869 Henry Brown 1861-1864
Elmer Armstrong 1862-1865 Norman Root 1863-1865 Elmer Rowell 1864-1867 Peter Hixson 1865-1874 W. S. Hyde 1867-1874 Charles R. Smith 1869-1875 B. C. Le Fever 1874-1877 Tobias Boudinot 1875-1878 Thomas J. Allison 1876-1888 Lewis H. Russell 1877-1880 Joshua Sands 1878-1881 F. S. Jurrod 1880-1886 Charles Henry 1881-1884 Charles W Goodspeed 1884-1894 Clement Hooper 1886-1889		John Burson 1888-1889 (Resigned) Clement Hooper, Sr. 1889-1892 Charles P. Clester 1889-1899 John H. Mohler 1892-1901 S. F. Beverage 1894-1900 John McLaughlin 1898-1907 William James 1900-1908 Leroy S. Woodworth 1901-1911 R. S. Dent 1904-1907 W. H. Vorhes 1909-1911 Owen Beebe 1909-1911 J. W. Drake 1911-1912 C. P. Clester 1910-1912 Frank White 1911-1913

photo and listing from Linda Crannell's wonderful poorhouse website! Click Below for more information