| THE COUNTY
POOR AND POOR FARM. |
| ~ source: History of
Fayette County, Western Historical
Company, Chicago, 1878 |
| Page 445-446 |
The county poor, previous
to 1864, were provided for by temporary expedients.
The young were bound out whenever possible, and the
aged were boarded at various places, in their
respective townships, at the expense of the county.
In 1863, P. Dowse, D. Perrin and J. H. Ross were
appointed a Committee on Poor, and the increase in
the number of people who were becoming county
charges led the Board, on June 3, to instruct said
Committee to investigate the matter to see if
expense could not be saved to the county. Pursuant
to instructions, the Committee, on June 4, 1863,
recommended that a committee be appointed to inquire
into the expediency of providing the county with a
poor house and farm, and to report to the Board at
its September session. The committee were appointed
as follows : D. Gr. Goodrich, E. Z. Stowe and H. B.
Hoyt. The committee made their final report June 7,
1864, and, after a lengthy preamble, recommended the
adoption of the following resolution:
| Resolved, That a
sum not exceeding two thousand dollars be
and the same is hereby appropriated from the
county funds of Fayette County, not
otherwise appropriated, for the purpose of
purchasing a suitable farm for the use of
said county as a Poor Farm, and report at
the next meeting of this Board. |
| |
This resolution was
adopted, and the committee reported September 5,
1864, as follows:
| Your committee
appointed at your June session, 1864, to
procure a Poor Farm for the use of Fayette
County, beg leave to report that they hare
procured a farm in Illyria Township, known
as the " William Morris Farm," for the sum
of two thousand dollars, the said farm to
come into the possession of the county on
the 1st day of October next |
The location of the farm
is as follows: South half of the southwest quarter
of Section 9, and the north half of the northwest
quarter of the northwest quarter of Section 16,
Township 93, Range 7, being 142 acres, inclusive.
The committee also offered
the following resolution:
| Be it
resolved and ordered by this Board, That a
sum not exceeding two thousand dollars be
appropriated from the county funds of
Fayette County for the purpose of purchasing
teams, implements, repairing and making
additions to the house, etc.; and that the
Committee on Poor Farm be authorized to
expend so much thereof as may be necessary
to put the said farm and Poor House in
readiness to accommodate the poor of Fayette
County the coming Winter. |
D. G. Goodrich, }
Committee
C. R. Bent, }
Committee.
|
This report was accepted
and the resolution adopted.
November, 15, 1864,- the
committee reported that they had stocked the farm
and employed Mr. L. M. Allen and wife as Stewards,
at a salary of per year, and stated that they were
ready to receive boarders. In 1865, there were
twenty-one paupers cared for; and in 1868, the old
farm becoming inadequate to meet the demands of the
county, the Supervisors began to agitate the
question of disposing of it and applying the
proceeds toward the purchase of a new one.
Accordingly, in June, 1868, D. B. Herriman bought
the old farm for $2,000, and the Board purchased the
east half of the northwest quarter of Section 6,
Township 93, Range 8, containing 181.23 acres, at
$5.50 per acre; the west quarter of the northwest
quarter of Section 15, being ten acres of timber, at
$20 per acre, and the west front half of the
northwest quarter of Section 6, Township 93, Range
8, at $6.00 per acre. It was not improved, however,
until 1869, when the house was built and William
Moore engaged as Steward. The present (1878) Steward
is A. Teats. The farm is in fine condition and a
credit to the county. The present number of inmates
is 26.
~transcribed and submitted
by Constance |
|
Fayette
County IAGenWeb