Martha Manor Home-Aged Women

Martha Manor Home-Aged Women sat on North Fifth Street in Steubenville and carried a long history since 1911 when it first opened as the Jefferson County Home for Aged Women, resting in a two-story, 22-room house that used to be someone's private residence, and over the years the place became known for caring mainly for older women without family, like widows or those never married, providing a quiet home and daily care, and it had a real focus on serving aged women in a home-like, safe setting where staff offered help with daily tasks, medication, home-cooked meals, laundry, and housekeeping, all in an environment designed just for older women, so women with memory issues, health needs, or who just needed extra support could stay there, and specialized workers ran programs for memory care and nursing, keeping a steady, supervised place for those with dementia, along with independent living for those who could handle things on their own but liked having meals, activities, and help when needed. Over time, the place relied on funding from churches, people's donations, foundations, and never did contracts for Medicaid or Medicare, keeping more of a private-pay source where the price depended on what sort of care a person needed, and the staff, many there for years-one director for 38 years-kept the place running with a strong community connection, even working with outside services like the Ohio Valley Health Center that had a room there, and the whole community often came together for open houses with food, tours, and visits. The home got passed to Urban Mission Ministries after the original non-profit closed, and then it served as both an emergency and a longer-term shelter directly for women and children facing tough times like homelessness or domestic violence, still keeping its heart for women's welfare and being a place for rest and care, carrying on the spirit of Martha from the Bible-hospitality, warm meals, and a safe place-right up until it closed its doors in October 2025. Through all those years, Martha Manor stayed women-only, kept everything clean, and protected, and made sure to support residents with skilled nursing, wound care, memory activities, and 24-hour staff for any emergency or need at any time. The home didn't just run as a care facility-it also became known for floral arrangements with a wide range of flowers and plant types, offering things like bouquets, baskets, centerpieces, corsages, floral gifts, and even arrangements for funerals and special events, and people could get flowers for all sorts of occasions-birthdays, funerals, new babies, housewarmings, love and romance-delivered right to the facility or any home or office, with themes by flower color, condolence flowers, urn tributes, and unique gifts in addition to the usual living supports. Martha Manor always held up its old mission to give women a safe, calm home with good food, caring people, and activities, and as times changed the building adapted-becoming a shelter and, in its last chapter, supporting women and kids in need-all the while honoring its promise to look after senior women and keep the doors open as a place of refuge as long as it could.