For Comfort & Convenience exhibit wins second award

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The Wood County Historical Center & Museum has received the Ohio State Historic Preservation
Award for Public Education and Awareness for the current exhibit For Comfort & Convenience:
Public Charity in Ohio By Way of the Poor Farm.
This exhibit explores the administrative story about public charity in Ohio that dates as early as 1816
using photographs, ephemera and interpretive panels.
It also explores the rise of the Ohio State Board of Charities in 1867, its transition in the 1930s to
the Ohio Department of Public Welfare, Division of Aged, and how the preservation of former Wood County
Infirmary as the current Wood County Historical Center & Museum impacts the story of public
charity in Ohio.
With the help of local photographer Jeffrey Hall, a journey of over 5,000 miles to all 88 counties
documented the current condition of each former poor farm site. These photographs connect past and
present, bringing the history of the poor farm system to the forefront as a catalyst for conversation
about the situations and policies that led people across Ohio to be housed in these places.
The exhibit was made possible by the Ohio Arts Council and the Ohio Humanities Council, with an in-kind
donation of photography services by Hall.
This is the second award for this exhibit; the museum was awarded an Outstanding Achievement Award from
the Ohio Local History Alliance on Oct. 5.
For more information, contact the museum at 419-352-0967 or visit www.woodcountyhistory.org.

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