ALLEGHENY COUNTY HOME AND HOSPITALS
The Allegheny County Home and Hospitals as establish-
ed at Woodville, was created by an Act of the Assembly at
the session of 1852 for the reception and accommodation of
the poor of Allegheny county, exclusive of the City of Pitts-
burgh. The institution is located at Woodville, Pa., in
Collier township, ten miles west of Pittsburgh, on the Wash-
ington branch of the Pan Handle Railroad.
There are three departments to the institution, viz.:—
the “Home,” in which the aged and infirm are given care
and hospital treatment; the hospital for mental diseases, and
Hill Crest Sanatorium, where all patients suffering from
tuberculosis are treated.
The original buildings for the Home department were
erected in 1853. In 1910, these buildings were razed and re-
placed with a modern building and equipment. This depart-
ment is caring for 750 patients, 150 of these requiring
hospital care.
The department for Mental Diseases was erected in 1900.
Prior to this time, Allegheny County maintained mental
patients in the several State institutions. This is the largest
department of the institution, having at the present time a
population of over 1500 patients. In this department, there
is a hospital unit of 100 bed capacity, complete in every
detail in the way of laboratory, operating room, X-ray,
violet ray, and hydrotherapy equipment. However, patients
in all departments have access to the service of this hospital
unit.
Prior to 1916, a camp was maintained for the treatment
of tubercular patients, but in 1916, Hill Crest Sanatorium
was erected. This building is located at an elevation of 1100
feet and provides for the accommodation of 350 patients.
The farm in connection with the institution, comprises 1200
acres, .on which is maintained a herd of 150 registered
Holstein cattle, 500 Duroc-Jersey hogs, 6500 White Leghorn
chickens and 18 head of horses. During the year 1927, the
products of the farm amounted to $60,000.
The Out Door Relief Department of the Institution
functions through the offices of the Directors of the Poor,
located in Room 5386, Court House, Pittsburgh. This De-
