Westmoreland County Home Exterior image
This view of the Westmoreland County Home. Notice the figures on the front porch. Do you supposed they are residents or staff?

The mystery of Westmoreland County Home, formerly located in Greensburg, has remained one of my curiosities since 2007 when I wrote my first book.

If you happen across my book — or any other historical photos of the County Home — you’ll know that the home was an imposing red brick structure looming on the top of a hill. (It definitely gives me Bates Motel vibes.) However, if you haven’t seen these photos or seen the sign for “County Home Road,” you might never know that this building existed.

Pennsylvania legislature passed an act in 1849 to establish the Westmoreland County Home. County commissioners purchased 180 acres of land from William Snyder and the home was opened in 1851. The building housed the county’s poor, disabled, insane, and orphaned. Short story, it wasn’t a fantastic place to reside.

By 1865, records show that the County Home housed 44 women; 50 men; 21 children; 12 “insane” women and girls; and six “insane” men and boys. I say “insane” loosely because that is what the records show, although we all know that in those days people could be labeled insane for less-than-legitimate reasons.

The original County Home stood for 11 years until 1862, when fire ravaged the building making it uninhabitable. The residents were temporarily housed at the Westmoreland County jail until a new building could be built. In 1889, the Westmoreland County Children’s Home on Pittsburgh Street in Greensburg opened and the children were moved there.

The second building, which was constructed using the first building’s walls, measured 150 feet long, 50 feet wide, and three stories tall. This building didn’t have much luck when it came to fire either as it also burned in December 1878. Whether this second building had a better fire-suppression system or it was just lucky, but it lasted much longer than the first two. However, it ultimately burned in the 1950s.

This is where a bit of mystery enters the picture. With a fire that significant, one would think there would have been a lot of news coverage. However, I can’t find any news clippings about the fire or if the entire building was razed afterwards.

What is known is that the site now houses the Westmoreland County Juvenile Detention Center, Westmoreland County Jail, Westmoreland Manor, and the soon-to-be demolished SCI Greensburg. This means that the site has been integral to Westmoreland County Human Services for almost 175 years.

Westmoreland County Home Pauper’s Cemetery

Westmoreland County Pauper's Cemetery
Located behind the county jail is the Westmoreland County Pauper’s Cemetery.

While it can be easy to get caught up in talking about buildings, a cemetery located behind the county jail tells us another story. It is a reminder of the people who lived within the walls of the home. This cemetery holds at least 600 graves, all marked with a small stone and a number. The ages of those interred here range from two days to 95 years.

Rows of small, numbered graves make up the cemetery.

The county courthouse houses the cemetery and county home records, but they are kept locked and unaccessible to the public. It almost makes one wonder if this is to hide injustices that may have occurred there.

One of the many numbered graves.

In 1985, the county leased the cemetery land to a mining company who wanted to move the graves. Luckily, that didn’t happen and the graves remained in place. Additional plans to build a monument at the site were also scrapped.

Only records held at the Westmoreland County Courthouse identify this grave.

Although the red brick County Home has been gone for almost 75 years, memories of it still linger. If you ever find yourself in the area, take a moment to pay your respects to some of Westmoreland County’s forgotten residents.

Did you know that this cemetery even existed?

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