Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1892-08-06
THE NEW POOR FARM.
The City Engineer Finds That 1t Con-
tains 246.75 Acres and
WILL COST THE CITY $S1,6S7 so.
Arranging for Beginning Work on the
Carnegie Library.
NEWS FROM TIE MUNICIPAL BUILDING

The new Poor Farm will cost the city
SCI, ,687 30 for the land alone. Yesterday
the city engineers completed their compu-
tations on the Neeld farm survey, and ac-
curately ascertained how much land the
tract contained.
A corps of the city surveyors went to
work on the task the day after Mayor Gour-
ley signed the ordinance authorizing the
purchase of Captain Neeld's farm. For IL
days they were compelled to work probably
as hard as they ever did in their lives. No
survey had ever been made of the
property since 1880 and the land
marks by which the boundaries
were designated in the deed were "fallen
oaks, =" 'stumps" and "creek lines" The
lapse of time had caused many of these old
marks to crumble away and disappear leav-
ing nothing to show where they had ever
been, and the creek had several times
changed its course in the 62 years interval, so
that when the surveyors went to work they
had great difficulty in getting start. They
finally found one landmark, however, by
which, after repeated trials, they were able
to establish the legal boundaries Of the
land.
Size of the New Poor Farm.
The farm contains 246. 70 acres and at $3.50
an acre will cost, as stated, S61, ,6S7 50. The
contract for its purchase provided for 225
acres, more or less, Captain Neeld not
knowing himself exactly how large it was.
He bought it 80 years ago as 24O acres
Chief Elliot has been impatiently await
ing the completion Of the city engineers
labors SO that he can proceed with the erec-
tion of the new buildings. To-day or Mon
day he will request Controller Morrow to
draw warrant in favor of Captain Neeld
tor the full amount, and the purchase will
be finally closed ND. The next step will be
to get pIans tor the buildings drawn and
submitted to the State Board of Charities
for approval. There will be COM
petition among local architects on the plans
for the buildings, but no prizes will be
offered. The best plans will be sci ected
and the successful competitor will get only
his commission on the work. Chief Elliot
has well defined ideas of what the new home
for unfortunates should be and will himself
supervise the erection of the buildings A
little less than eleven months remain in
which the buildings must be made ready for
occupation as the city must vacate the old
farm at Homestead on the LIST of next July.
Building the Carnegie Library.
Chairman James B. Scott, of the Carnegie
Library Commission, is going ahead with
the preparations for building the big art,
music and knowledge building at the Schen-
ley Park entrance, just as if various labor
organizations had not demanded that Mr..
Carnegie's gift to the city be returned to
him. Mr.. Scott, with Mr.. Alden, of Long
fellow, Harlow & Alden, the supervising
architect of the proposed buildings, and Mr..
Potts, the chief civil engineer Of Schenley
Park, held long conference in Chief Bige-
lows Office yesterday afternoon. They had
before them the ground plans of the park
entrance, and they finally decided upon the
datum, the elevation and other necessary
points preparatory to beginning work on
the foundations. The first actual work to-
ward the erection Of the buildings
will be done shortly. Next week
the ground at the park entrance is to be
leveled down ready for the excavations
The breaking of ground for the foundation
will follow soon afterward, but owing to
the recent agitation there will be no demon
stration at the ground breaking as was
originally intended.
Chairman Scott declines to talk for pub
lication about the proposition to return Mr.
Carnegie's gift but he says the foundation
will be at least partly built before the frost
comes.
The City Clerk Gets New Safe.
An improvement to the City Clerks office
which has long been needed is now being
made by the building of freproof
steel vault in which to pre-
serve the valuable records in the
clerks charge. An ordinary office safe and
the regular wooden closets of the Office have
heretofore been used for storing the records
that should have been kept where they
would have been safe from destruction by
fire The hallway leading from the main
corridor has been taken for the vault, which
will be completed next week.
Summer vacations have caused the ab-
sence of an unusually large number of city
officials and employees during the past week,
and the hall has worn a deserted appear
ance Chiefs Bigelow and Brown, City
Treasurer Denniston, City Attorney More
land and number of lesser lights disap-
peared early in the week. By next Mon
day Mayors Clerk Ostermaier, Chief Clerk
Jos. Bingaman, of the Department of
Public Works; City Clerk Martin and
probably the Mayor himself will have gone
away to seek rest and recreation, while
numerous clerks in the various Offices are
preparing 10 get away within few days
1t is likely that September will have rolled
around before City Hall settles down to
routine business again.