If there’s one thing I’ve learned from tracking down Indiana’s old county homes, it’s that their stories barely sit still long enough to be told cleanly. Dates shift, origins blur, and every source seems to tell a slightly different version of how things began. The Montgomery County Home near Crawfordsville is no exception.
Sources disagree about the initial establishment of the Montgomery County Home. A 1913 history says the first poor farm was established three and a half miles southeast of Crawfordsville in 1832 and cared for three or four people. The account says a farm remained there until 1847 when the county purchased 200 acres from Allen May. A small brick home was erected the following year1.
Others claim that the county home got its start in 1844 when Revolutionary War veteran Ambrose Whitlock gave his two-story Greek Revival farmhouse for use as an almshouse2. Another source I found said the building opened in 18903.
A trip to the county assessor’s database often clears up a lot of confusion, but Crawford County’s says the home was built in 19504! At any rate, the 140-acre property appears at its present location on an 1864 plat map5.
I have to assume that the story about Ambrose Whitlock’s involvement is at least partially true, since the county home sits on Whitlock Avenue just north of Crawfordsville. Does that mean part of the building was once his home? It sure looks like it’s been added onto over the years to attain its current layout.
Despite those outward appearances, the old Montgomery County Home actually follows the T-shaped plan common to many infirmaries, albeit with offset wings. A central superintendent’s office and dwelling separates areas for male and female residents6. This 1913 Sanborn Map shows the configuration.
County homes are interesting places often full of intriguing snippets and stories. Among several I found was the tale of George Cook, a sixty-five-year-old resident who was missing his nose and claimed to be a Russian exile. In 1889, he was discharged from the home when its superintendent discovered $6,528 -including $4,000 in gold- in his possession7. That’s more than $200,000 today!
Another story I discovered was of Susan Record, who died in 1890 of influenza. That’s not remarkable on its own- many people died at county infirmaries over the years. What’s intriguing is that period obituaries pegged her age at 1108!
The last tidbit I found was violent. In 1892, an elderly resident, Patrick Savage, was brutally assaulted by another, A.J. Smalley. Smalley beat Savage in the head with a slingshot and it was thought he’d never recover9. Unfortunately, a quick search of Savage’s name on Find a Grave doesn’t reveal the outcome of the attack.
By the early 1900s, the purpose of the Montgomery County Home had evolved beyond its abilities. “Like other Indiana poorhouses,” the Indianapolis News wrote, “the Montgomery County infirmary is becoming more of a detention house for the hopelessly insane turned back on the county by the State hospitals, and for epileptics, provisions for whose care the State-or counties- have not been made other than those afforded by the poorhouses, where, of course, no treatment is given10.”
By 1976, the infirmary was home to eight men and seven women all with developmental challenges11. Unfortunately, the institution appears to have been closed in 199312. After it was shuttered, it was used as an alternative school and, later, county offices. In 2001, Trinity Mission purchased the building and spent $200,000 renovating it into an eighteen-bedroom treatment center13. It remains so today. Residents were outside when I visited. Preserving their privacy limited my photos.
Like so many of Indiana’s county homes, the Montgomery County Infirmary is a place where fragments of history overlap instead of neatly lining up. Dates conflict, stories change, but the building itself seems to carry traces of each chapter in its long life. Still, that’s part of what makes it compelling.
Sources Cited
1 History of Montgomery County Indiana (1913). A.W. Bowen & Company [Indianapolis]. Book.
2 Thomas, J. (2001, June 19). Plans for detox center earn wide regional praise. The Lafayette Journal and Courier. Pp. 1-9.
3 Montgomery County Poor Farm (2026, March 14). Asylum Project. Web. Retrieved March 26, 2026.
4 Parcel 07-29-100-031.011-028 (2026). Office of the Assessor. Montgomery County [Crawfordsville]. Web. Retrieved March 26, 2026.
5 Map of Montgomery County, Indiana (1864). Cowles & Titus [Philadelphia]. Map.
6 Sanborn Fire Insurance Map from Crawfordsville, Montgomery County, Indiana (1913). Sanborn Map Company. Map.
7 A Pauper With Over $6,500 (1889, March 12). The Lafayette Weekly Courier. p. 3.
8 State Intelligence (1890, February 20). The Aurora Journal. p. 1.
9 Tragedy at a Poor Farm (1892, July 13). The Richmond Item. p. 3.
10 Need Of Helpless Ones Unheeded By The State (1904, November 29). The Indianapolis News. P. 13.
11 Meagher, P.S. (1976, February 19). Montgomery home still ‘poor farm’. The Lafayette Journal and Courier. p. 12.
12 (See footnote 3).
13 Thomas, J. (2001, June 19). Plans for detox center earn wide regional praise. The Lafayette Journal and Courier. Pp. 1-9.
