Richmond daily palladium. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1876-1904, 1901-10-29
COUNTY FARM.
Its History, Improvements,
Occupants. Manage.
ment and What lt
Takes to Run 1t.

Rlc0mOnu Is tue county larn, or. dS
some term it, the poor house II
was stablished in the year 1S45. The
/ first SUPERINTENDENT was John Crum-
/ Il at that time consisted of small
| brick building with a wing where
were huddled together the unfortun-
I ate poor and more unfortunate ones
/ of deranged mind. a large enclo-
sure with solid board fence eight
I feet high was used for the latter dur
4 ing the day time. in weather suita Dle.
| In the early years of its history i'm
1 provements were made as fast as
/ funds could be secured for the pur-
/ pose. At times many donations were
made by individuals, until at present
/ it is model of its chara ter, with
every convenience possible for the
care of the worthy poor of this coun
| ty.
/ A modern constructed brick house
| for the superintendent and his fami-
| ly. with wings extending to the east
and west is occupied mostly by the
aged and crippled inmates. To the
north of the main building are two
two story brick wards and the dining
rooms and kitchen, one ward for
men the other for women. Between
the two wards is the laundry, a COM
modious building fitted up with every
convenience that building of this
kind is in need of. The other build
| ipgs on the farm is a large stable
capable of housing II head of horses
and 20 cows. There is barn
to the west with acapacity of housing
sixty cattle 1t is 50x36 feet In the
main barn there is a silo with a Ca
pacity of 200 tons. A large building
is used for agricultural implements
with large corn cribs on either
house, paint shop and general repair
shop. the farm consists of 307 acres,
and this year produced ?, 500 bushels
of corn, ], $50 bushels of wheat, aver
aging 81 bushels to the acre, aud 200
bushels of oats. Besides this all veget-
ables for the use of the inmates are
raised on the place, such as potatoes,
cabbage, tomatoes, onions, beets,
and an abundance of fruit, apples,
pears, grapes and other small fruits.
ltreouires for heating and other.
purposes 30 tons OF coal aud 11J
cords of wood during the year. Am
pie coal sheds and large wood
shed are conveniently arranged for
the purpose A detail of men, those
who are physically able, distribute
the fuel ever, day to the residence,
kitchen and different wards.
The doctrine that cleanliness is
next to Godliness is believed. in
here Every Saturday the wards and
halls are thoroughly scrubbed and
disinfected. Every inmate. and none
escapes it, must bathe and make an
entire change of clothing. They must
also on that day change their bed
linen, and take the same to the laun-
dry by 6 o clock on Monday morn
ing. The bedsteads are of iron, but
even at that a weekly inspection
is made thro Ighoct as precaution
against vermin.
Those who give but little or no
thought to an institution of this kind,
with the exception that it is a poor
house, and.have no idea of how well
these unfortunate poor are pro-
vided for, would be surprised were
they at some time to visit this place
at any meal hour. The food is pure
and wholesome and plenty of it. Meat,
and that good, twice a day, potatoes,
rice, meat gravy, good bread and all
the coffee andsmilk one can drink are
provided. The meats vary during
the week, fried ham, country sausage
and fresh meat, pie and pudding
three times week.
The inmates are provided with
good, warm under garments, also
with suitable outer clothing and good
honest made shoes, and forthose who
\ a. c,l% \
rubber boots are provided.
John Nicholson is the present su-
perintendent and is ably assisted by
his wife. They see that every com |
fort is extended to the inmates that
lays in their power. In cases of sick
ness both are untiring in their eff
forts to relieve the sufferer. Their |
orders are strict and must be obeyed /
in regard to the inmates treating
each other with respect and no pro-
fame language toward each other is |
tolerated at any time. Mr. Nichol- !
son and wife seem to have the respect /
of all.
There are at present in |
the Institution 81 males and Is /
females, and considering the ad-
vanced age of a large number the /
death rate is comparatively small. |
One female inmate has been here ever /
since It started and is now in her /
seventy second year. Shevas known
when brought here as the wild girl, 1
ffty-six years ago.
In the past two years there has /
been over 200 rods of fence put up /
which now encloses over 200 head of /
hogs and other cattle,
The water supply is furnished by /
springs. A large reservoir with a |
capacity of 45, 600 gallons is situated
a short distance from the house on
an elevation.
George Mccullough has just COM
pleted contract for electric lighting