Poor Farm Project

Butler County Poor Farm Census Project

Background

The Butler County Poor House, also known as the County Home or Poor Farm, was opened on 25 Oct 1900 to accept the homeless and infirm who were unable to provide for themselves. It was reorganized in 1963 as Sunnyview Nursing and Rehabilitation Center. The Stewards (superintendents) maintained various records, which were aptly called “Steward’s Register of the Names of Paupers Admitted to the Butler County Poor House.”

The admission records commenced in 1900, with the opening of the Poor House, and end in 1963. Additionally, every three months a Census of residents was entered into the Register. Consequently, residents were recorded at the time of admission and in each quarterly Census during their stay. While most people were from Butler County, neighboring counties also placed residents at the Poor House. (description from the Genealogy page of Butler Area Public Library website)

Goal

To digitize select historical census records of the Butler County Poor Farm, make them available to researchers, and interpret the history of the farm and the people who lived there for a public audience.

Overview

Students will work in four teams – Digitization, Transcription, Data Analysis and Narrative – to accomplish separate but interrelated aspects of the project.

Each team will be responsible for drafting a team contract that assigns tasks and responsibilities. Each will also receive specific training and consulation sessions with Dr. Cowan. Teams have varying due dates based on necessary scaffolding of the project.

Students are expected to engage in this effort with professionalism and dedication to producing work at the highest standard possible.

Team	Tasks	Due date(s)	Desired skills/interests
Digitization	Photograph pages of census records Post-capture processing (editing, organization) Create Omeka collection with metadata	October 15	photography archival management familiarity with Photoshop or other photo editing software
Transcription	Clean and prep existing birth/death data Transcribe selected pages of census records completely and accurately Proofread and clean transcriptions	Task 1: October 15 Task 2 & 3: October 29	attention to detail ability to read cursive!
Data Analysis and Visualization	Analyze data from transcribed records, drawing on similar studies as potential models Draft historical questions relevant to the data Create at least 3 data visualizations (may include charts, graphs, maps, etc.) illustrating historically meaningful patterns, trends, etc.	November 12	experience with statistics, data visualization, Excel or other data software creativity
Narrative and Interpretive	Research history of Butler County Poor Farm, drawing on secondary and primary sources Write an overview historical narrative of the Farm until approximately 1950 Create at least 2 interpretive digital exhibits on a specific subtopic, using Omeka Exhibit Builder plugin.	Task 1 & 2: November 5 Task 3: November 26	strong writing creativity experience with original research