Lawrence County Home (Hill View Manor) - Shenango Twnp PA

The New Castle City Home, located in Shenango Township, Lawrence County, Pennsylvania, was a working farm and collection of buildings essentially serving as a “poor house” for New Castle’s mentally ill, severely destitute, and elderly residents with no known family. It was located on Old Pittsburg Road near the present-day site of the Shenango Elementary School and had been in operation since first opening in November 1867. The facility had been built on about thirty-five acres donated by Charles M. Philips of New Castle. Although there was initially a three-man board of “poor directors,” one of them, a man named Robert W. Reynolds (1808-1886), largely kept the home going with his own financing and tireless efforts behind the scenes. Reynolds was likely the son of Robert Reynolds Sr., who was born in Boonsboro, Maryland, in 1776, and was an early settler to the New Castle area.

A new building at the property was opened in late 1880 and over the next two decades the home usually maintained only two full-time staff members and housed about ten “inmates” (as they were called) at any given time. The poor directors tried to operate a humane facility that cared for the destitute as best it could. Most of the inmates were wards of the city and “sentenced” to confinement at the home.

The New Castle Index of Wednesday, November 10, 1880, remarked, “In the several townships of the county it is the custom to dispose of paupers by contract to the lowest bidders. By this means it often happens that persons who are not fit to be entrusted with a decent dog become the keepers of the aged and decrepit men and women, who deserve to be treated with the utmost kindness. This mode of providing paupers with the means of subsistence is unworthy of the civilization of the nineteenth century, and has too long disgraced Lawrence county.”

By 1900 the resident population (at its peak) had increased to twenty-seven inmates, but was down to eighteen in 1920. The institution was for New Castle residents only and was run by a superintendent, who was elected to a four-year term by the city council. Assisting the superintendent was a similarly-elected “matron,” who personally oversaw all the female inmates.

In mid-1924 various officials began serious discussions on establishing a County Home, which would essentially replace the aging New Castle City Home and consolidate various smaller institutions around the county. A proposition was put on the November ballot that would allow the public to decide on whether a County Home would be built. The public voted in favor of the measure and the county commissioners began considering a way ahead. The New Castle News of Saturday, November 22, 1924, reported, “A visit which was recently made to the city poor farm was merely for the purpose of ascertaining the nature of the buildings owned by the city, and the capacity of the same. The poor farm is to be a permanent institution and the county commissioners are disposed to move slowly in order that they may have all the necessary data before them before committing themselves to any plan.”

Local architect Albert L. Thayer was hired to draw up plans, while a suitable location for new County Home was scouted out. The county commissioners considered purchasing the old New Castle City Home property, but settled on a 23-acre site just nearby in Shenango Township. The location was along the New Castle-Ellwood Road (Route 65) and accessible by the interurban streetcars of the Harmony Line.

In June 1925 the county started accepting bids to build the new Lawrence County Home for the Aged and construction efforts began the following month. The modern facility, a brick structure able to accommodate 110 residents, would include vocational rooms, a smoking room, several lounges, a bomb shelter, a laundry, a four-car garage, a large garden, a small working farm, and a cemetery. An excerpt from an article about the county home in New Castle News of Friday, October 23, 1925, explained that, “…aged people, without a friend in the world, will be able to spend their declining years in comfort.”

The Lawrence County Home was essentially a joint city-county endeavor as the two entities worked closely to ensure the facility meet specific needs. In October 1926, as the facility was about to be opened, Perry D. Snyder, who had been serving as the superintendent of the City Home since 1913, was appointed to the same post at the County Home. His wife Mary A. Snyder, the matron of the City Home, would also continue in her duties while assisting her husband. Mantz B. Hogue, appointed as the county welfare agent, was tasked to look after the poor district affairs of the entire county as exact details of the city-county arrangement would be worked out over time.

The facility finally opened on Tuesday, October 19, 1926. On that day the Snyder’s and their two children, about a dozen staff members, and the first twenty inmates left the old City Home and took up residence in the nearby Lawrence County Home. The new home did not generally take children, although a young boy was among the first twenty residents. Some of the work was still awaiting completion and the long driveway was still being paved. The old City Home was abandoned soon after and was later sold.

The new County Home worked in conjunction with several other facilities, including the Margaret Henry Home and the Almira Home. Orphaned and other similarly disadvantaged children were handled at the Margaret Henry Home, known as the Holy Family Home prior to 1921, on Cunningham Avenue in New Castle. The Almira Home on East Washington Street in New Castle was a haven for elderly woman.

The New Castle News of Wednesday, October 20, 1926, elaborated on the city-county arrangement with, “Under the new arrangement whereby the city poor department comes under the control of the county with the combining of the poor districts M. B. Hogue has been named as county welfare agent, by the county commissioners and is in charge of the general management of the city poor district. He is already on the job and is becoming acquainted with the biggest end of the task, that of handling the poor department affairs of the city of New Castle.” Essentially, over time, the county would take charge of all the poor district affairs within Lawrence County.

The New Castle News of Friday, November 5, 1926, reported, “County commissioners report that a number of townships have not yet transferred their poor to the new county home, although it is expected that the work will be completed this month. There are also a number of persons who are being taken care of at institutions outside the county who will be brought to the county home at an early date.” Under the Snyder’s long tenure, the number of inmates steadily grew but fluctuated over the years from seventy-two inmates in December 1928, to 176 in December 1934, and 136 in December 1939.

In June 1944, county welfare officials and the Snyder’s came under fire during a rather heated public hearing, investigating claims of incompetency at the home, at the county courthouse. The Snyder’s were both in their late seventies and probably not suited to operate such a challenging facility. In the wake of the hearing the Snyder’s were basically retired with pensions, but allowed to stay on at the home with reduced roles. By late August, with Perry Snyder sick in bed and Mary tending to him on many days, the Snyder’s were given three weeks to vacate the premises. Their daughter Jeannette, who had lived at the home for many years, also passed away at about that same time. That vacate order ended the Snyder’s run of over thirty years of service to the local community. Perry and Mary Snyder both died before the end of 1945 and were laid to rest in Oak Park Cemetery.

Mantz B. Hogue, the longtime director of the county’s welfare department, immediately took over operation of the home. Samuel and Florence Cutler took over by early 1945 and served until they resigned in January 1948. They were succeeded by Olive Reed Bollinger, a nurse who served in World War I and the widow of former County Commissioner George H. Bollinger, from 1948 until 1952.

At times the local residents filed complaints about the residents of the home. An article in the New Castle News of Saturday, September 3, 1949, read in part, “A petition signed by seventeen residents in the district has been presented letting out that the county home was intended for the poor and needy and not for mental patients. Further, the petition complains that the mental patients are getting around the neighborhood to the annoyance and nervousness of the residents.” The article mentioned that County officials replied that state mental institutions were overflowing and there was little they could do.

Subsequent superintendents included J. Harold Mayberry and his wife Rena from 1952-1965 and Clarence E. Covert from 1965-1973. The Lawrence County Home continued in operation for many years and in the latter half of the 1960’s, while under the supervision of Covert, was remodeled and morphed into a skilled nursing center. By 1970 the home was facing severe overcrowding issues and was housing about 115 elderly people at any one time. Covert, who also dealt with criticism and complaints regarding alleged discrimination practices in regard to his admission policies, became bitter about a lack of county support and submitted his letter of resignation in early 1972. He agreed to stay on until a suitable replacement could be found, but eventually stepped down in late January 1973. Antoinette Schaas, the Director of Nursing at the facility, took over on an interim basis until Sister Carmen Puhl, previously serving at St. Francis Hospital in Pittsburgh, arrived to take over as Administrator in March 1973.

In December 1974 the county decided to update and expand the home by adding a whole new section and remodeling some of the existing floors. The new three-story addition (with an additional basement level), to be built off of the woman’s department, would allow the home to accommodate another thirty or so residents. A new kitchen and dining room and other occupational rooms were also included in the construction. The new “north wing” cost $1.7 million and opened in mid-1977. Meanwhile, after a contest to find a more suitable name for the antiquated-sounding Lawrence County Home for the Aged, it was renamed as the Hill View Manor on March 22, 1977.

By the late 1990’s the facility became a financial burden and in 2002 the county began exploring the idea of selling the facility and its thirty-eight acres. Workers and other supporters protested the proposed closure and a bitter fight ensued among the county commissioners. In October 2002 the property was listed for sale and before too long Sylvan Heights Realty Partners offered to purchase the property for almost $1.7 million. The company planned to renovate and keep the nursing home in operation and also add townhouses and stores to the property. A Pennsylvania State Police investigation into possible financial wrongdoing halted the sale and led to a several lawsuits that were not finally settled until 2017.

In January 2004 the county finally announced it was shutting down Hill View Manor. The remaining forty residents were assisted in finding other accommodations and the facility closed its doors on Friday, February 6, 2004. Thirty or so residents moved to the Haven Nursing Home on Paul Street in New Castle. About a dozen employees stayed on to help close out all administrative obligations and the facility’s records were reportedly moved into storage at the Gateway Commerce.

The property was split into two portions and both were put up for sale. During a public auction in September 2005 the building and surrounding 14.7 acres were sold for $190,000 to Triko Enterprises of McKees Rocks. A few months later, in December 2005, the adjoining 21.8-acre property was sold to the Ellwood Savings Bank for $476,000. The building sat vacant with an uncertain future and in July 2007 thieves broke in and stole approximately $150,000 worth of copper wiring and pipes. This further clouded the building’s future as replacing the wiring and pipes would prove costly. The site has become of particular concern to the Shenango Township Police as burglars, vandals, and teenaged thrill seekers often attempt to sneak into the abandoned building. Hill View Manor has gained quite the notoriety for being touted as one of the most haunted locations in all of Western Pennsylvania. The old home has been featured on numerous television programs and many nationally renowned ghost hunters and paranormalists have visited the location. Of particular interest is the third floor of the main administration building where the old hospital was located.

Numerous former residents died there and some of them (including homeless people from New Castle) were interred in the small cemetery located on the grounds. A handful of residents were known to have committed suicide at the facility. Some of those and others who died of natural causes are said to haunt the building to this very day. Those stories include several colorful characters including Jeffrey, a young boy who loved baseball, and Mary Virginia, an elderly woman with a fondness for dolls. Another legend holds that the spirit of 64-year-old Finnish immigrant Eli Saari, who died in the old boiler room in December 1934, can still be encountered in the basement.

Another personality said to haunt the halls is James “Jimmy” Marker (1926-2008). He was a longtime resident who as a child attended the Polk State School, a rural facility in Venango County for children with intellectual disabilities. Jimmy, who had a speech impediment and later lost his voice completely, would apparently charge a dollar to take your photo although his camera lacked film. Jimmy was still living there when the facility closed for good in 2004. He was transferred to the Haven Nursing Home where he passed away at the age of eighty in November 2008. The future of Hill View Manor may still be up in the air, but the ghost stories associated with it have sure helped this old facility remain in the spotlight.

The property is under constant surveillance by security cameras. Do not attempt to visit this location without permission from as the police may arrive on hand soon after. The future of Hill View Manor is still up in the air, but ghost tours are still available!

To read about a woman “disappointed” because she had to return to the old city home in 1898 click on: DISAPPOINTED ARTICLE. To read about a visit or inspection of the old city home in 1900 click on: VISIT ARTICLE. To learn more about a suicide at the old city home in 1902 click on: SUICIDE ARTICLE. To learn more Perry Snyder being elected Poor Warden in March 1913 click on: SNYDER NAMED POOR WARDEN ARTICLE. To read an article from 1917 about the cemetery at the home click on: LONE TOMBSTONE WILL RISE UP ARTICLE. To read about how the sick cows of the city home were slated to be euthanized in 1923 click on: SICK COWS ARTICLE. The following item is not about the city home but is somewhat related in a mental science kind of way. To read a rather amusing article about the folks of Pittsburgh going crazy in 1923 click on: PITTSBURGH GOING CRAZY ARTICLE. To learn about how a model of the new county home was on display at an expo in Philadelphia in 1926 click on: COUNTY HOME MODEL ARTICLE. The new county home was almost ready to open in the fall of 1926. To read more about it click on: NEARING COMPLETION ARTICLE. To read about how Perry Snyder would continue on as superintendent of the new county home click on: SNYDER STAYS ON ARTICLE. To learn about how the first twenty-eight residents have settled into the new county home in November 1926 click on: FIRST RESIDENTS ARTICLE.

A drawing by architect A.L. Thayer of the proposed Lawrence County Home for the Aged. The woman’s wing is on the left and the men’s department is to the right. The facility, located on the Ellwood-New Castle Road, would be able to house as many as 110 residents. Built on a 23-acre property it would cost about $250,000 to build. Construction efforts began in July 1925. (1925)

The newly completed Lawrence County Home for the Aged was first opened for business on Tuesday, October 19, 1926. (c1927)

A view of Hill View Manor prior to the addition of the North Wing in 1977. (1967) Full Size

An overhead view c2010 showing the “north wing” addition made to the facility in the mid 1970’s.

The center administrative section of the home. The third floor, where the hospital was located, is a hotbed of paranormal activity. (Aug 2010)

The left wing of the facility, which housed the woman’s department, is visible. The modern addition built in 1976 is located behind this wing. (Aug 2010)

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Renowned paranormal investigator Bruce Tango. (Oct 2012)

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The second floor room of “Jeffrey,” a young boy who reportedly died at the home and haunts its halls. (Oct 2012)

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The room of Mary Virginia, an elderly woman who died at the home and is said to be very active in the spirit world. She was known to like trinkets and guests have left various items on her bed. (Oct 2012) Full Size

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The infamous and creepy boiler room located down in the basement. (Oct 2012)

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