In 1732, the Philadelphia Almshouse opened as the first
government sponsored institution for the poor in America. Originally located west of 3rd and
south of Spruce streets, the Almshouse served as a hospital for the sick and
the “insane” and provided food and shelter for the poor. In the 1830’s, the Almshouse relocated to
what was then called Blockley Township, just west of the Schuylkill River, near
34th Street and University Avenue in present day Philadelphia.
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| Photo courtesy of http://www.philadelphia-reflections.com/ |
Growing into a complex of buildings that
served the poor as hospital, orphanage,
poorhouse and an asylum for the mentally ill, the facility became known
as the “Old Blockley.” Not surprisingly,
conditions at this facility were abysmal.
Management by an organization known as the Guardians of the Poor did little to support the needs of those at
Old Blockley. Newspaper accounts from
the time describe the occupants as “old, sick and decrepid.” As a consequence of the poor upkeep and lack
of concern for patients and “inmates”, tragedy struck Old Blockley on July 19,
1864 when a portion of the “Female Lunatic Asylum” collapsed early in the
morning, as patients were being gathered for breakfast. At least 18 people were killed and at least
20 others were seriously injured. Among
the dead was a six year old boy named Andrew Noble.
Andrew Noble was the youngest of 8 children born to Sarah
and Thomas Noble. Thomas supported the
family working as a bookbinder, with additional support provided by Andrew’s
older siblings. Limited information is
available on the Noble family, however it is known that young Andrew lived with
his family at least until 1860. However,
it was apparently the case that Andrew was both
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| Photo courtesy of http://dla.library.upenn.edu/ |
physically and mentally
disabled, and eventually came to reside at the Old Blockley. On the morning of the tragic collapse at Old
Blockley, Andrew had just been fed by a nurse (a Mrs. Ackley) who laid him on
his couch. Moments later, the building
collapsed and Andrew was killed as he was carried down with the building into
the rubble. The scene at the collapse
was described in newspapers of the time in graphic detail. Crews were immediately dispatched to sift through
the rubble to retrieve survivors and the dead, who were transported to “the
dead-house” until they could be identified. The women housed in the collapsed building were described as “…old or
middle aged, and are a strange, and for the most part, extremely repulsive
looking set.” The description of the
recovery and identification of Andrew’s body was also recorded: “the body of
the boy Noble was brought in and although when alive he was a very repulsive
specimen of humanity, being entirely idiotic and terribly crippled, still the
sight of his remains so affected his old nurse that she leaned over his body,
wiped the blood from his face and wept bitterly.”
Two days after his death, little Andrew Noble was buried in
Mt. Moriah Cemetery. His mother had died
the previous year, and was also buried there.
At the time, Mt. Moriah was relatively new, and
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| Photo courtesy of http://www.preservationalliance.com/ |
was located in western
Philadelphia, adjacent to Cobbs Creek.
Over time, the cemetery expanded significantly in size and grew to span
across Cobbs Creek into Yeadon, in Delaware County. Mt. Moriah is the burial site of many
prominent people, and includes two military burial sections which contain the
remains of veterans from as far back as the Civil Way, and include many
Congressional Medal of Honor recipients. Over time, management and oversight of the cemetery declined to
nonexistent levels and the site was eventually abandoned. Most of the cemetery became overgrown with
vegetation, and often served as a dumping ground for trash. Legal and financial complications have
inhibited efforts to re-establish Mt. Moriah as an independently functioning
cemetery.
In the aftermath of the collapse at Old Blockley, it was
determined that the tragedy was likely due to construction work at the site to
install heaters. No doubt this was compounded
by the physical state of decay at the facility.
No one was ever held accountable.
In the years that followed, conditions at Old Blockley continued to
decline. In 1919, the facility was
renamed Philadelphia General Hospital, and was eventually closed in 1977 with
its sad reputation essentially unchanged in nearly 250 years of existence.
Today, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia occupies the site
of Old Blockley. Here, children and
their families can receive state of the art medical treatment and all necessary
supports in a caring environment.
Although much of Mt. Moriah Cemetery remains overgrown and in disrepair,
an organization known as Friends of Mt.
Moriah is working with other volunteer groups to reclaim the grounds and
restore dignity to this once magnificent place of beauty and peace. And what of Andrew Noble, who died as a
victim of terrible disregard for human dignity and wellbeing at Old Blockley,
and was victimized again by a similar disregard for dignity after his death at
Mt. Moriah? In 2015, Lost History Detectives visited Mt.
Moriah Cemetery in search of Andrew Noble’s burial site. With help from Friends of Mt. Moriah, the approximate location of his grave was
located in section 116 in the Yeadon side of the cemetery. More than one hundred and fifty years after
his death, this young boy who lived and died in a world unable or unwilling to
grant him the dignity and compassion he deserved, was remembered.
Lost History
Detectives, October 22, 2015
Note: This post was supported
by information from the Philadelphia Inquirer, Wikipedia, and other internet
sources.
