Wallin Peg Board A

Object number2016.29.7 a-i

Date1950-1959

OriginChicago, IL

MediumWood; Paper; Ink

Credit LineGift of Polk State Center

DescriptionPeg board game consisting of peg board, six pegs, and original box.DimensionsLength x Width x Depth (a): 14.125 × 3 × 0.875 in. (35.9 × 7.6 × 2.2 cm)
Length x Diameter (b-g, Dimensions of each peg): 2.563 × 0.375 in. (6.5 × 1 cm)
Length x Width x Depth (h): 15.688 × 3.375 × 1 in. (39.8 × 8.6 × 2.5 cm)
Length x Width x Depth (i): 15.5 × 3.325 × 1 in. (39.4 × 8.4 × 2.5 cm)
Inscriptions(h)
Handwritten text in black ink on exterior "Peg board A".
Marks(a)
Imprinted text within a circle in one corner on top "STOELTING CO. / A / CHICACO, ILL. / MADE IN U.S.A."

(h)
Text stamped with black ink on interior at center "CONTENTS / CAT. NO. 19207 / WALLIN PEG-BOARD A / Stoelting Co."
Historical NotesPuzzle from a psychological and mental test for children aged 18 months to four years. It was used at Polk State Center. When Polk Center opened in 1897 it became the second institution in Pennsylvania built expressly to house and care for people with intellectual disabilities. The 2,000 acre site in rural Venango County allowed access to Pittsburgh via the railroad, but also isolated residents far from their families. Change in the care of people with disabilities over the past 100 years has influenced the lives of the residents and staff at Polk, as well as the surrounding community. This object is part of a collection that documents that important story. Label TextAt its peak in the mid-1950s, more than 3,400 people, including at least 500 children, lived at Polk. The objects that survive in the Polk collection document the care and treatment of people with intellectual disabilities over the course of the 20th century.

Related institution Polk State Center (founded 1897)

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