County nursing home and infirmary opening in 1960 included time capsule
By Catherine Cooper, Orleans County Historian
“illuminating Orleans” – Volume 4, Number 25
Members of the Orleans County Home and Infirmary building project committee participated in a groundbreaking ceremony for the new facility on May 7, 1959. From left include Milton Bowen, Town of Clarendon Supervisor; Justin Roberts, Town of Shelby Supervisor; Victor Hawkes, Welfare Commissioner; Harold Hill, Town of Barre Supervisor; and William Knights, Town of Ridgeway Supervisor.
ALBION – As early as 1829, the Board of Supervisors of the newly formed Orleans County was mandated by the state to build a structure to “care for the downtrodden.”
Located three miles south of the Village of Albion, this facility determined the name of the road on which it was built. County House Road runs east-west between the hamlet of Millville in Ridgeway and Route 98 in the Town of Albion.
The original building was replaced in 1878. A separate structure to house an infirmary was added in 1903. People with a variety of needs were cared for at the Orleans County Home and Infirmary.
By 1957, the buildings had deteriorated and were deemed unsuitable for modern medical practices. An inadequate water supply on County House Road tipped the balance of the decision to relocate the facility. The new Orleans County Infirmary was dedicated on Sunday, August 28, 1960.
As is customary, a time capsule containing items thought to represent the times, was placed in the cornerstone. A list was prepared by Historian Cary H. Lattin. It is intriguing to read some 64 years later. The time capsule included:
- Newspaper editions of the Holley Standard, the Orleans Republican-American, the Albion Advertiser, the Medina Daily Journal, the Lyndonville Enterprise, and the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle. Also, an issue of the Albion-Holley Pennysaver.
- Proceedings of the Orleans County Board of Supervisors 1958-1960
- Photograph of Orleans County Board of Supervisors, 1958-1959
- Enrolled electors, 1959-1960
- Photograph of Orleans County Court House Square personnel, 1958-59
- Brochure of Niagara Power Project
- Brochure of new Dial Telephone System
- Photographs of old County House and Infirmary
- Clarendon Sesquicentennial Booklet, 1960
- Gaines Sesquicentennial Booklet, 1959
- Orleans County Census of Agriculture
- Statistical Report of Orleans County
- Current U.S. dollar note
- Current U.S. two dollar note
- Photograph of 48-star flag coming down for the last time on July 3, 1959
- Dedication program for the event.
New York State Senator Austin Erwin laid the cornerstone of the new County Infirmary on August 28, 1960.
