I am sending the article which Sally mentioned in her e-mail to the list
for others who are interested in the Poor Farm. All spellings in the
article are "as found" in public records. No attempt was made to correct
errors in the spelling of names.
Sandy McBeth
The Pike County Poor Farm may have been called many different names over
the years such as County Infirmary, County Asylum and County Poor Asylum
but the purpose remained the same.
The people of Pike County were concerned for the welfare of it's citizens
as early as the 1820's when the trustees of the townships were entrusted
with the care of the indigent poor. They were "farmed out to the lowest
responsible bidder."
Listed at that time as "Overseers of the Poor" different families and
individuals in the community took in poor homeless individuals and
sometimes even families to live with them. The County Commissioners then in
turn paid a reimbursement for that care.
This practice was continued through the 1850's. At that time an eighty acre
tract of land was purchased for $600 from James Mount to be used as a
"county poor farm." by the County Commissioners. They operated the farm for
a short time before taxpayers decided it was too expensive to operate and
the individuals in need were again "farmed out to the lowest responsible
bidder." The land was sold by the commissioners for $800.
Finally the County Commissioners were able to come up with a "working poor
farm" system and the Poor Farm again became an institution.
In 1866 the commissioners purchased land at the current location of Pike
Central High School and built a large two story building, 60x38 feet. They
paid E. W. Gray $4,698.59 for the land.
Those individuals living at the Poor Farm who were able to work helped farm
the land and work in the vegetable garden which supplied much of the food
and other necessities. Bids were let for items such as coal, bedding,
clothing and other items the farm was not able to produce itself.
During the time the Poor Farm was in operation the Pike County
Commissioners visited the facility once a month and had dinner with the
"Inmates."
The first "Inmate" at the facility when it opened in 1866 was Peter R.
Fair, a fifteen year-old who was "crippled and partially paralyzed." He
lived at the Poor Farm for the rest of his life, dying there in 1924.
The 1870 census lists six Inmates at the Poor Farm: S. E. Dean (70 years),
Lacy Liner (60 years), Peter Fair (20 years), George Mitchel (35 years),
Elizah Stout (40 years), and Ellen Stout (4 years).
In the 1880 census there were a total of thirty-six persons listed at the
Poor Farm. Of those six had died during that year at the facility.
In 1885 the main building at the Poor Farm was destroyed by fire which had
been started by Inmate, John Tisdale.
Tisdale had been confined to a cell on the first floor near the kitchen as
he had been considered "wild and dangerous" for a few days prior to
starting the fire. He was reported to have pulled straw ticking out of his
mattress and starting the fire. The alarm was sounded immediately and an ax
was used to break down the door of the cell. Tisdale was pulled from the
fire, "but not until his clothes were all burned off of him and he was
almost scorched alive." He ran outside where it was snowing and was found
sometime later, but was injured so severely in the fire he died two days
later.
At the time of the fire there were fourteen residents at the facility
besides Tisdale. They were "farmed out" to county residents until a new
building was constructed.
Two separate frame buildings, each with five rooms were built to replace
the destroyed one. The buildings allowed for the separation of male and
female residents. This building was also destroyed by fire.
The last building which housed the "Inmates" of the Poor Farm was a two and
one-half story brick building with adjacent outbuildings built in 1906.
These buildings and their contents were sold at an auction by the County
Commissioners on October 8, 1966.
According to the Ordinance Authorizing the Sale "The cost of restoring said
buildings to a condition which would permit the same to be usable by any
department, agency and /or board of said Pike County, Indiana, or which
would permit the same to be used for the purpose of producing income for
said County, would not be in the best interest of sound economy." The
ordinance also stated that the buildings were to be auctioned without the
land for a price of not less than two hundred dollars. The purchaser had
one year to "complete the removal of said buildings, the fixtures therein
and thereto attached, and all materials connected therewith, from the
premises..."
On September 20, 1920 the Board of State Charities, State of Indiana
visited the Poor Asylum for an inspection. In their report they described
the buildings and equipment as "..a two-story brick building, modern, in
need of repairs and painting. The institution is clean. Gas light and steam
heat are used. The ventilation comes form the doors and windows. Private
water supply. There is no fire protection. The institution has bath tubs
and closets. The bedding is standard." Of the farm itself the report
describes it as "...contains 130 acres of poor land. There are 10 head of
cattle, including 8 milk cows, 3 horses, 45 swine, and some
chickens. There is a good garden, also an orchard and some small fruits.
The products are used in the institution. The farm buildings and fence are
fairly good, and the door yards are neatly kept."
At that time the superintendent of the Poor Farm was paid $500 and his wife
served as matron with a salary of $150. A physician within the county was
employed "on call" by the commissioners to serve the inmates needs.
When the Board of Charities inspected in 1920 they found the population of
the facility to consist of "3 men, 13 women, 1 boy a year old who is
feebleminded." Inmates were placed at the facility based on an application
and order by the township overseer of the poor. The report also stated that
"The sex separation is good. The inmates are clean. They bathe weekly, have
good clothing and the general health is good. Three meals a day are served,
prepared by an employee. The food is good and sufficient. Reading matter is
furnished. Religious services are held occasionally."
The following spring when the annual inventory was run the Poor Farm listed
Household Goods, $850.00; New Goods on Hand, $65.00; Meat and Lard,
$740.00; Feed, $399.00; Livestock, $1,420.00; Implements, $402.00; Twelve
Hundred Bushels of Coal, $144.00; thirty Gallon Coal Oil, $4.50; Twelve
Brooms, $6.00; Six Mops, $3.00; and Ten Gallon Disinfectant, $20.00.
The annual report of the Board of Charities list the population as "2 men
and 9 women present." They also reported the furniture as old and shabby
with the bedding consisting of straw stick, sheets, comforts and blankets.
A Requisition Form for supplies in 1935 listed items such as 1 lb. Alum, 3
bu. Beans, 2 doz canned pumpkin, 3 lb cheese, 3 boxes dried peaches, 200 lb
cornmeal, 15 lb rice, 6 lb raisins, 2 doz bar soap, 10 bu Irish potatoes,
36 lbs oatmeal, 3 jars mustard, 30 gal kerosene, 7 doz lemons, 10 lbs
cotton batting, 2 doz women's cotton hose, 100 yds unbleached muslin, 3 doz
buttons, 3 doz. spools thread, 6 pr mens overalls, 1 doz mens caps, 6 pair
suspenders and 36 gal syrup.
In 1897 the Poor Farm had 23 inmates for which the County Commissioners
paid $1.00 a week to Samuel Fettinger, Superintendent of the facility at
the time.
Twenty-eight Inmates of the Pike County Poor Asylum were listed in the 1900
census, eleven of them over the age of sixty. The youngest resident at that
time was Frank Postelwait, age 15 and the oldest at 82 was Robert Hughes.
The 1910 census for Pike County showed a total of 19 Inmates of which 8
were over the age of sixty.
Many of the inmates stayed the rest of their lives at the Poor Farm.
Several claims are found in the county records for burials. In 1895 $14.35
was paid to Fred Smith for the burial of Mr. Butler, Deceased. Fred Crooks
died at the farm in 1904 and was buried by Harris and Coan for $18.00. In
1895 a claim was processed for the burial of Wm. Burton's daughter. It
listed one 4 foot coffin, $5.00; one rough box, $2.00; one burial suit,
$2.00; and hauling to graveyard, $1.50. There were many other such claims.
The Poor Farm Cemetery records list only known burials. When the cemetery
was abstracted in 1979 there were no stones left in the cemetery which is
located on Pike Central school grounds.
Superintendents of the Poor Farm included: Andrew J. Barker, 1850; William
M. Anderson, 1866; E. W. Gray, 1868; James Brumfield, died while
superintendent and his wife Sarah Brumfield finished his term in 1870; John
Fettinger, 1872; Charles S. Fettinger, 1873; William C. Richardson, 1874;
John J. Fleener, 1882; Isaac Lewis Fordyce, 1885; Samuel Fettinger, 1897;
Thomas A. Johnson, 1910; Samuel Heacock, 1922; Asbra "Jack" Brittain, 1930;
William Harvey, 1934; DeForest Tooley, 1940; and Royal Pancake, 1948.
The Poor Farm was officially closed on December 31, 1949 by the Pike County
Commissioners. Those residents who were still at the facility when it was
closed were transferred to a facility in Dubois County.