In 1824, New York State legislation mandated each county to institute a poorhouse, thereby transferring care for the poor from individual towns to the county. Westchester County’s first almshouse opened its doors in Mt. Pleasant, in 1828. In 1900, Westchester purchased nearby Grasslands Farm in Eastview and built a hospital and a new home for the poor, which it operated as the County Home until after the Depression.

The 23 volumes of Almshouse Records held by the Westchester County Archives include inmate records documenting birthplaces, occupations, and personal and familial habits of many generations of Westchester’s poor. The volumes also describe everyday life at the home.