Many tales of tragedy and sadness have been related in recent years about the living conditions in the Greene County Poor Farm. Much of the tales specifically related to brutal treatments and the use of the West Wing basement, also known as the Dungeon. But even with all the horrible happenings in this aged institution, there are positive memories, and some positive memories from places even like the Dungeon.
After the close of the 19th century, living conditions at the poor farm had improved drastically. While the conditions were certainly not to a standard that we would find acceptable today, gone were the days of abuses, mistreatment, and a complete lack of understanding for the mentally ill. By the 1930s and 1940s most residents at the poor farm, or the County Home as it was then known, were aged and infirm and generally well treated in clean conditions with proper dietary necessities.
Some residents of the County Home even had jobs that allowed them to interact with the community and provide a service to those who lived within and without the County Home. We know from historical accounts that during this period that one of the larger rooms of the Dungeon was used as a shoeshine shop and a coffee shop that both residents of the home and locals from Waynesburg utilized.
While history has lost the name of the individual who ran this shop, it does provide a glimpse into the happier times of what was once a sad facility. In recent years this room has been restored to give an appearance of what it may have looked like in the 30s and 40s, with several places where one may have sat to have their shoes shined and all the tools needed to repair worn and well used shoes.
Perhaps one of the most interesting things found during the restoration of that room was a small tin cup found in the ceiling that was likely left there by one of the residents when the area served as a shoeshine shop and a coffee shop.
