The borough poor house on Water Street is now in operation. The cooking apparatus and utensils have been moved from the soup house to the new quarters of which Mrs. Harriet Logan has been appointed landlady. It is suggested to have a cow or two connected with the establishment to supply the necessary milk and to raise on the premises a portion of the pork required by the inmates. By proper management our taxes for the support of the poor can be considerably reduced.
-Sunbury Gazette, 4/9/1875

Sunbury Poor-house, for the poor of Sunbury Borough, which has a population of 4077 in habitants.
This "poor-house," as it is both in name and condition, is located in Sunbury, on Front street, on the east side of the Susquehanna river. It is reached by the Northern Central, Pennsylvania and Philadelphia and Reading railroads to Sunbury.
Location - It is for the accommodation of the poor of Sunbury borough, and its location is central to the population designed to be accommodated, in a populous neighborhood, with a soil of loam and sand.
Buildings - The building is a frame structure, two stories high, and was formerly and ordinary dwelling, known as the "old ferry house;" date of erection unknown.  It is entirely destitute of conveniences required for the proper care of the helpless and infirm. It is not owned by the poor-house district, but rented at $200 per annum. A few since the building and ground were purchased for $1200. The personal property is valued at $100. On the first floor occupied by females, there... [following pages missing]
-Pennsylvania Board of Public Charities, Third Report of the Commitee on Lunacy of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, 1885, p.238

Sunbury Poor-house
At Sunbury, on Front street, east side Susquehanna river. P. O., Sunbury, Poor-district, Sunbury Borough.
A description of this poor-house was given in third report of Committee on Lunacy, pages 238 - 240.  An official visit was made to this institution in the past year. There were no insane inmates, all of this class being  at once sent to the State hospital at Danville.
-State Committee on Lunacy of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, September 30, 1886, p. 126.

Sunbury Poorhouse
Situated one mile from the town of Sunbury.
Visited August 3, 1888, by Mr. Dickenson and Mr. Biddle.
A double brick house with two stories and attic, overlooking the Susqeuhanna river, affords accommodations for the poor of the town of Sunbury. There were 9 inmates when the visit was made to this house, 3 of whom were women.
It was in better condition than when we visited last year. It still requires paint and the cellar should be ceiled. The house was clean and the inmates well cared for and contented.
No religious services.
-Board of Public Charities Report in Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, 1888-1889, Official Documents, Comprising  the Department and Other Reports Made to the Governor, Senate and House of Representatives of Pennsylvania, vol. III Harrisburg, Edwin E. Meyers, State Printer, 1889, p. lxiv
(Note: This is the new poorhouse located one mile south of Sunbury. See photos below from 1987. -rjm)

An old wooden building on Front between Walnut and Spruce was rented as a poor house for some years. The present poor house was purchased in 1886; it is a two-story brick building located in Limestone valley one mile south of the borough limits on the line of the Northern Central railway, with an acre and a half of ground adjoining. One acre was originally bought, to which a half-acre was added in 1890.
-Herbert C. Bell, History of Northumberland County,  Chicago, 1891