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Grey County House of Refuge |
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Grey-Owen Lodge was in operation from 1904 until 1998. The facility was once known as "The House of Refuge", or "The Grey County Home for the Aged". It opened on June 24, 1904, with the original intent to house the poor and indigent of the County of Grey. Before then, the only place available to a homeless person was the County Gaol in Owen Sound. Fifty acres of land was purchased for the "House of Refuge" from a John E. Marsh, at Lot 103, on the Glenelg side of the Toronto-Sydenham Road, just south of Markdale. Mr. Charles Gordon of Owen Sound was the Chairman of the building committee. The building was made of red brick, and there is a photographic postcard view, captioned as the "House of Refuge" in the Grey County Archives, that shows how it looked in its early days. It was postmarked in 1919 (see 1969.086.010). The farm land was worked on by the residents, in order to help produce food. Most of the residents were elderly. For more details about the operation of the House of Refuge, see the book MARKDALE: CROSSROADS OF GREY, 1998, as it has a chapter about it. The Grey-Owen Lodge had its own barn. A small one was built in 1904, and it was added to, and updated. In May, 1943, 100 adjoining acres were acquired, and the "home" then had 187 acres, as well as 15 cows and 16 young cattle, 35 pigs and about 80 hens. The site also was used to grow oats, hay, various ensilage crops, mangolds, turnips and vegetables. In 1944, the Grey County Home for the Aged and Infirm (as it was known then), celebrated its 40th anniversary. Dorothea Deans wrote an article about it for the Owen Sound Daily Sun-Times. At that time, the Superintendent and Matron were Mr. and Mrs. Dixon. When the Grey-Owen Lodge building was demolished, the site was re-used for the Grey Gables facility (also administered by the County of Grey). The cornerstone was opened up and a copper box was found inside it, containing newspapers and coinage from 1904. These items are now in the Grey Roots Museum & Archives. |
