working on new projects to improve the building and open new, never seen areas. Nearly every time they commence, these projects shed light on an entirely new area of history pertaining to this historic structure.
Unfortunately, this history is often tragic. However, it is the hope of the Greene County Historical Society to preserve this tragic history and use it to remember and honor the people who once called our building home. Hopefully, this takes a tragic existence and turns it into a solemn and respectful memory. Perhaps even giving a bit of respect now, where little could be found in life.
The attic of the museum has never been open to the public, and recently the Greene County Historical Society has started a project to repair and renovate the attic to open it for the first time, and share the nature of its historic use.
By 1878, the Museum, then the home of the Greene County Almshouse, was suffering from severe overcrowding. Designed to house 40 people, the institution was bursting at the seams with over 80 people; at times residents numbered close to 100.
Because of the burgeoning resident population, the attic was converted to living space It was a long narrow room, 57 feet long and nine feet wide, sparsely furnished with eight beds, and housed 16 men. In the early 1880s, inspectors from the state visiting the Almshouse referred to it as a “Dark Den of Calcutta, a dark narrow room, poorly furnished with only one window for ventilation.”
During the Historical Society’s work in the attic, however, it was learned that the state inspectors never checked to see if the window was operational. And, unfortunately, it wasn’t. When the window was removed for restoration, staff learned the window was never designed to be opened. Both upper and lower sashes were designed to be permanently fixed in place, so those poor souls living in the attic in the dead of summer had no escape from the sweltering conditions. By 1880, a new wing was built onto the institution and the attic was no longer used for housing.
As restoration work continues in the attic over the course of the next year or so, the primary goal is to set it up as it would have been, or as closely as possible to honor the memories of those who once lived there. Unfortunately, there is no account of the names of specific people who lived there so very long ago, but telling their story can serve as a reminder of the lives that they led and open the “window” to the stories that they may be able to tell.
Greene County has a rich history, full of both the good and the bad. Much of the minutiae of its history is still waiting to be discovered, similar to how the museum’s renovations bring new discoveries to light.
