Newark's first Almshouse was a decrepit old building located at the edge of the meadows.  The area around it was damp, humid, and mosquito ridden (some carrying malaria).  .  The building itself was a dumping ground for the handicapped, dependent and deviant members.  Orphans, widows, the infirm, the feebleminded and others down on their luck were placed together with drunkards and criminals.  A report written in 1855 by the almshouse physician, Dr. George S. Ward, stated that there were 74 inmates that year and 62 had contracted malaria (intermittent fever).  At a meeting of the Newark Common Council on July 1, 1857 the purchase of a 21 acre site for a new Almshouse was defeated 21 to 4. 

1900 Federal Census ED - #222