In 1866, the leaders of Harrison County appointed John W. Brown to purchase land to build the county’s “poor farm”, a place for those who were indigent would live and work. He found and purchased an unknown amount of acreage in section 9, township 64, range 27 – a plot of land southeast of Ridgeway (east of what is now known as East 250th Street and south of West 245th St.) The land was purchased in 1866 and the buildings on it were erected two years later. (Per the 1914 plat map, one of these buildings was the “Asylum”.) “This farm under county management afforded a comfortable home for the poor of the county until about 1902”. (History of Harrison County, Missouri, Geo. W Wanamaker, 1921, pages 186-187)
The county officials would advertise in the local papers for bids for someone to take over the management of the farm for two years. The bid needed to include the amount the bidder would accept per week of “boarding and clothing and taking care of each poor person” as well as rent per acre for “the plow land in said farm and the amount per acre for the pasture and meadow land.” The bidders had to provide a bond to place a bid. (Bethany Clipper, Jan 18, 1883)
In 1883, one woman was taken to the poor farm after she got off the train in Ridgeway unable to give her name or address at first. She was seen by the local doctor and taken to a local family but after she had a “hard fit”, that family request that she be moved. She was taken to the poor farm where she was cared for until she could recover enough to remember her name. (Bethany Clipper, Nov 29, 1993, page 4).
The poor farm remained in operation near Ridgeway until 1902 at which time the farm was closed and operations moved to Bethany.
