Bedford County Alms House
The National Park Service has not published a boundary polygon for this district; the map shows the listed properties inside it and the district's reference point.
Why it's listed
Built in 1872-73 on a rural tract of about 175 acres in Bedford Township, the almshouse is a four-story brick building with an extended cross plan, a central tower, and two access towers. Its Italianate features include paired ornamental brackets under the roof edges, brick quoins, arched-top six-over-six windows, and wood porches on the east and west towers. The county chose the site for its clay and stone, and brick made on the property was used for much of the building. The almshouse housed the county's poor and indigent from 1873 until it closed in 1978. The nomination regards it as an important example of how Pennsylvania counties provided for the poor, and it is valued for its rural location, its interior plan with central corridors and dormitory wings, and its cluster of outbuildings added as funds permitted, including an infirmary of 1899 and a laundry and boiler plant of 1900.
Machine-generated summary. This summary was generated by a language model from the official nomination document and has not been reviewed line by line by an editor. It may contain errors. Check the source document before relying on any detail. Source: nomination document (PDF) · catalog entry. Generated October 2026 (model claude-haiku-5-5, prompt v1.1-2026-10-29).
| Period of significance | 1872-1938 |
|---|---|
| Styles | Italianate |
| Areas of significance | Architecture, Social History |
| Acreage | 9.7 |
| Boundary source | not published |
| Full listing page | Bedford County Alms House (property record) |
What listing means for this property
This is a historic district. Buildings within its boundary are either contributing (they add to the district's significance) or non-contributing. Owners of contributing income-producing buildings can claim the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit; homeowners should look at state credits. National Register districts impose no design review by themselves; a local historic district ordinance, if one exists, does (the difference explained).
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm with your State Historic Preservation Office or a qualified adviser.