Franklin County Poor Farm System

The following guest article was written by Jo Mazzetta in about 2007 for her English class at Neosho County Community College. Now a medical coder at Ottawa Family Physicians, Jo grew up, and still lives, next door to the Franklin County Poor Farm. Jo also took the photos in this article.

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What I Knew

Pest house

I grew up on a farm east of Ottawa, Kansas. This farm is still owned by my family and I still live there. I have four sisters and they all live there as well. When we were kids, we would get our horses out and go riding, often all day with no particular destination in mind. My dad always told us to stay away from the Johnson Farm. It bordered ours on the west side. Dad told us Mr. Johnson didn’t like little kids. I never found out if he didn’t or not or if my dad was the one he didn’t like. Howard and Vivian Johnson lived on what was the Franklin County Poor Farm. I became interested in this farm when we found out about the unmarked cemetery in the cow pasture and the jail cell on the farm in the barn yard. I couldn’t imagine as a child what a place such as the poor farm could be. Was it a prison or a place for people with no money or family to care for them?

What I Wanted to Know

Pest house (looking out)

What is the Franklin County Poor Farm? What is the Franklin County Infirmary? Is it part of the poor farm system? This building is located at 19th and Elm Street, Ottawa, Kansas. What is its history? It is currently being remodeled as a family home, but has had past uses as a hay barn and a Halloween horror house.

I’m interested in the history of Kansas, but am particularly interested in the people who were pioneers or settlers here. The poor farm system seems to be a precursor of the welfare system. There had to have been many, many people who because of health, old age, lack of family, or lack of resources needed such a system to survive.

I wanted to find out if there were any records of these facilities, who did they assist, how many, and what were the circumstances that brought these people here. Who built the farm and the infirmary? Did the county and city pay for their upkeep or was it the responsibility of the state? At least two buildings of the poor farm still stand, and the infirmary is now in excellent condition as a family home. Most of all, I’d like to find out who is buried in the cow pasture, and find out how many graves there are. This is an important part of local history that I am sure most people know nothing about. I think it’s time we learned about it.

The Search

My search for information started at the Ottawa Library in Ottawa, Kansas. The librarian did know what I was talking about and gave me what little information was on file there. I then proceeded to the Franklin County Historical Society and county records facility. I was quickly finding out that very little information existed about the county poor farm and infirmary. There were no county records at all. I did find some newspaper clippings and two oral histories from caretakers who worked at the infirmary. My request for information from the State of Kansas Historical Society yielded much the same result. I also contacted local people known to be local historians. Web sites on the internet lamented the lack of information available about the state poor house or farm systems. All my contacts wished me luck and want to read this essay when I’m done.

History of Poor Houses

The county poor house system began during the second quarter of the 19th century. What were poor houses (often called poor farms – and several similar terms – or referred to with the older term – almshouses)? They were tax-supported residential institutions to which people were required to go if they could not support themselves. It was what we call nowadays “welfare” and what was called “outdoor relief” in those days. Paupers had limited options prior to the establishment of this system. They could ask for help in their community from the overseer of the poor, sometimes also called the poor master. These people were dealt with in three ways.

1. When people fell on hard times and with no help available from their family or church, they made application to the overseer of the poor for assistance out of tax funds set aside for this purpose.
2. People who could not support themselves or their families were put up for public auction. In this type of auction, the pauper was sold to the lowest bidder. This buyer would agree to provide room and board for labor of the pauper for a period of a year or so. This was actually a form of indentured servitude; although it sounded a lot like slavery, it wasn’t for the pauper’s lifetime. There was very little recourse for protection against abuse in this system.
3. The third method was contracting with private individuals to care for the paupers, again for the lowest price. This also had little protection against abuse.

By 1875, poor houses became the responsibility of the State Board of Charities. Each state had laws governing the poor. The state of Kansas made it the responsibility of each county to establish a poor house or farm system. These poor houses were under the jurisdiction of the county commissioners.

What I Found in Franklin County

Smoke house

Franklin County in the State of Kansas established its first poor farm in 1873, fewer than 20 years after the first white person settled in the county. This was located three miles east of Ottawa, Kansas, on 15th Street. The first patients or inmates (they were called both) were admitted in April of that year. The site consisted of 170 acres. Two buildings still stand. If they were built when the farm was established they are now 133 years old. They were constructed from the abundant and plentiful limestone found on the farm. These buildings have walls up to two feet thick. The most interesting of these is the “pest house” also known as the jail for the bars still on the windows. It was used to quarantine the sick. Smallpox was prevalent in those times. The fear of this disease was so great that the sick were kept there until they recovered or died. The other building is believed to have been a smokehouse. The foundations are still visible of the ice house. The original main building was long ago torn down. No known pictures of this exist.

J.W.R. Medaris was the first custodian of this place. Mr. Medaris was hired by the Franklin County Commissioners on March 13, 1873. He was hired as the superintendent and was to furnish a matron. They were to be paid $490.00 paid quarterly per contract (Franklin County Commissioners Minutes, ledger 1873). The first inmate of this farm was a homeless six-year-old son of a man who was sent to the penitentiary. The second inmate was a Catherine Linn of Virginia, aged 96. Several children were born there over the years and the youngest person admitted was a three-week-old baby. For many years the insane were admitted because there was nowhere else for them to go.

Arrangements were made later with the State Hospital in Osawatomie, Kansas, to take these inmates. The poor farm was required to take a harmless patient from the hospital in exchange for the insane one, according to an article by L.L. Edge of the Ottawa Herald newspaper.

The first year of operation saw only six admissions and six the next year. In 1875, the total went to seven and steadily increased in following years (Edge, par. 4). I was fortunate to find a handwritten copy of the 1885 Kansas Census for the poor farm. It was interesting to note that surnames were listed more than once, leading the reader to wonder if these were families or sibling groups. The form was one to record pauperism and it lists twenty-three names.

Possible cemetery, located in the southeast corner of the Poor Farm

A cemetery is said to be located on the farm. There is reference in the Herald article of records of the cemetery that survived the fire. I’ve been unable to locate these records or any other reference to a fire on the poor farm east of Ottawa. It was recorded that at least two people are buried there. Thomas Young, aged 51, died on January 25, 1895, and was buried on the grounds, as was a Mrs. Joe Bates, who was admitted to the farm on May 30, 1895, and died the next day. There is a possibility of another burial, but there is no name listed in the Herald article. The cemetery is believed to be located in the southeast corner of the property. I found what I believe to be the burial area. Depressions in the ground are still visible if you know where to look. There are five to seven depressions still visible, approximately six feet long, running east and west. There are no markers, but the depressions appear to be man-made and not random. The cemetery is not listed on the abstract or on the deed of the property, but subsequent landowners were told not to plow the land too deep in that area, because of the graveyard. Later burials were done at Hope Cemetery in Ottawa, Kansas, again in unmarked graves.

I was extremely happy to find that the Ottawa Library had published an oral history of Josephine Evans. Her husband, C. Fred Evans, and she were hired by Franklin County to be the managers of the Franklin County Infirmary located south of Ottawa, Kansas. They were hired in 1937 and were employed there until 1942.

Mrs. Josephine Evans’ life was very interesting and we are fortunate that an oral history was taken and funded by a Library Service to Older Americans grant. In 1937, the Evanses were hired by the Franklin County Commissioners to run the Franklin County Infirmary. This job was a political appointment that required a married couple if at all possible because both men and women were aided at the Infirmary. It was a controversial appointment at the time because the couple had an 18-month-old son and some feared for his safety. Their salary together was $100.00 per month. Mrs. Evans doesn’t know why they were picked for the job, but her husband had been a guard at Lansing State Prison. His background may have been useful to the position.

Mrs. Evans says that it took many people to run the Infirmary. Other employees included a man and his wife as cooks, a custodian, a practical nurse, and farm help. Most of the residents were elderly and without family. There was a man and wife who were blind, some people had physical and mental handicaps, but most were considered harmless.

The Franklin County Infirmary was also a working farm with milk cows, chickens, pigs, and a large garden. Most residents had been raised on farms and knew how to farm and care for the animals and did so if they were able. Most of them wanted to be useful and wanted to work (Evans, Josephine).

Farm Buildings West of Franklin County Infirmary

Farm buildings west of Franklin County Infirmary

The 18-month-old baby mentioned earlier, Eldon G. Evans, wrote his own history of his life at the infirmary. He stated it was a great place to be a child; he had 35 additional grandparents and was doted on by all. He has memories of the farm and the 35 milk cows that needed milking by hand twice a day. The farm produced milk, cream, and butter from the cows for the residents’ consumption. Chickens were raised for eggs and meat, and pigs were raised for meat. The farm land produced hay, milo, corn, wheat, and oats. There was pasture for the livestock and hay was put up in the barn. In 1937, the county had a silo built for $470.00. Mr. Evans says larger projects such as harvesting and filling the silo were contracted out.

Although he was a small child when he lived at the infirmary, Mr. Evans recalls the staff employed there as stated earlier by his mother. The county contracted with a physician to care for the residents. Some of the residents had terminal illnesses and a hospital room was made and the patient attended to by the practical nurse. The most interesting room for him, however, was the jail cell on the third floor. Residents may be kept there when being evaluated by the county court for admission to the State Hospital. Men and women were not housed together, unless they were married. The women stayed dormitory-style in the main building and the men stayed in a cottage west of the infirmary (Evans, Eldon G.).

Franklin County Infirmary, 19th and Elm Street, Ottawa, Kansas

Mrs. Evans says that she and her husband left the Franklin County Infirmary in 1942. World War II was on and there were opportunities for higher wages. I found a later reference in her history of her husband becoming the undersheriff for Franklin County, and she became the first female deputy for the county. She believes the infirmary was in operation for a few more years (Evans, Josephine).

In the early 1900s, attitudes toward the poor began to change. People began calling the poor farms “county farms” to avoid negative connotations of the word “poor.” In the 1930s the farms began to disappear. The last of these farms closed in the 1960s. President Franklin D. Roosevelt was responsible for the demise of the poorhouse system with his “New Deal” incentives. Social welfare legislation (workman’s compensation, unemployment benefits, and Social Security) began to provide a rudimentary “safety net” for people after World War II. The poorhouses evolved almost exclusively into nursing homes for the dependent elderly. They left orphanages, general hospitals, and mental hospitals – for which they provided the prototype – as their heritage. Franklin County had evolved as well by building Crestview Nursing Home in the 1960s. Ransom Memorial Hospital took care of the sick, Osawatomie State Hospital still took care of the dangerously mentally ill, and the Franklin County Mental Health Clinic was established. Children in need of care are now taken care of by the courts. They may be taken care of by alternate family members or by the foster care system. These solutions may not be perfect, but are preferable to housing them with all other “rejects” of society.

The social welfare system of today is much improved over the poorhouse system, but it is by no means perfect. Lack of funding (taxpayer dollars) and a less socialist attitude by Americans and their government have led to the closing of many of the institutions that were established to take care of these people. The closing of mental hospitals have contributed greatly to the homeless populations. There is a shortage of shelters for homeless families as well. We also are informed on a regular basis that Social Security won’t be around forever and many of us who are counting on it for our retirement may be left without. There have been many significant improvements in social welfare, but it is still a work in progress.

The poorhouse system was and is a vital part of our history. Most people had no idea what I was talking about when I discussed the project. I came across many references by genealogists lamenting the lack of records and information about the residents of the poorhouse system. I recently found additional records of the poor farm system of Franklin County in the Franklin County Commissioner Minutes, located in the County Clerk’s vault at the county courthouse. These hand-written minutes are in excellent condition, but difficult to read. I hope I can do more research in the future. It’s a part of history we must not forget.