The old county home

Iowa · USA · Hospital

The old Story County home near Nevada, Iowa closed around fifteen years before this account was written.

Driving past at night, people see glows in the windows, as though a light were on inside.

It is condemned, with no trespassing signs across the front.

Moans and cries are reported from the building.

A county home was where a rural American county put the people it had no other answer for: the elderly poor, the mentally ill, the disabled, and those with nobody left. Residents worked what they could to offset the cost of keeping them. Many died there and a good number were buried on the grounds, often without a marked stone.

That is the history that produces this pattern of reports, and it is the same history behind a dozen other entries in this archive from a dozen other states.

The building is condemned, structurally unsafe and posted against trespass.

FAQ

Hvor ligger The old county home?

The old county home ligger i Iowa, USA.

Opplysningene bygger på lokal folketro og vitneskildringer.