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The ELKHART COUNTY ASYLUM
"In the early forties (1840's)," according to Mr. P. M. Henkel, "there was no asylum for the care of the poor and indigent persons. Such as were dependent upon public charity were farmed out by the county commissioners for their support by the year to the lowest responsible bidder. At this date (1845) but two persons in the county were thus provided for. The first farm purchase by the county to be used as an asylum for the poor was located in Jefferson township and consisted of eighty acres. A superintendent was appointed and all indigent persons transferred to his care." This poor farm was two and a half miles northwest of Goshen, and was known as the Adam Harman farm.
In 1847 Miss Dix, the eminent philanthropist and reformer of prison conditions, visited on her tour of inspection the institutions of Elkhart County, and her strictures relative to the county poor farm were especially severe. The poor house, to quote Miss Dix's report as it appeared in a local paper of that year, "is situated several miles from Goshen, and has a farm of eighty acres, forty of which are cultivated. No dwelling is as yet constructed for the poor of sufficient capacity for their suitable accommodation. The situation of this establishment is remote and difficult of access." Only three individuals were kept there at the county expense at that time, so that it is hardly surprising that the home had not yet reached the dignity and efficiency of a public institution.
Perhaps this criticism led to the action of the county board in 1853 by which a substantial building was planned for the accommodation of the county's almoners. This house was erected on Elkhart prairie, five miles southeast of Goshen, on the old Fort Wayne road. The poor house burned in February, 1871, but was replaced by another in the summer of that year. In 1882 the county commissioners traded with W. D. Platter for a marsh farm of 453 acres between Bristol and Elkhart in the St. Joseph river. This trade was recinded by the new board of commissioners elected in 1882, and, Platter refusing to surrender the old farm, a law suit followed. The case was in the courts two years, was tried in the circuit court at LaGrange before Judge Robert Lowry, of Fort Wayne, who decided in favor of the county. Platter took an appeal to the supreme court, where Judge Lowry's decision was affirmed, so that the county continued in the possession of its farm on Elkhart prairie several years longer.
In 1885 the farm in the prairie was sold, and the site of the present institution was bought of David Rupp, for the sun of five thousand dollars. The present Elkhart County farm is located at Dunlaps, in Concord township, half way between Goshen and Elkhart, and is reached by the Inter-Urban electric line. The farm contains one hundred and twenty acres, and the entire institution is a credit to the county. If Miss Dix were alive to-day and could visit this asylum her adverse criticism would, without doubt, be turned to words of praise and admiration of the efficient way in which the eleemosynary affairs of the county are administered.
The asylum building, which was erected in 1886, the original contract price being $18,800, is a brick building, two stories and basement, containing sixty-five rooms. The east side is for the women inmates, and the west for the men. At the time of the present writing an addition, 31 by 60 feet, is being built, in which will be located the hospital department, the rooms for the insane and the cells for the unmanageable inmates. At the present time there are 58 persons in the institution, this being about the average number. The largest number during the past year was 79 and the lowest 50. The present superintendent is Mr. John L. Warden, and under his direction are three lady employes, two men in the house and one on the farm, besides the fireman and janitor."
(A Twentieth Century History and Biographical Record of Elkhart County Indiana - Anthony Deahl/Editor - 1905)
"In the early forties (1840's)," according to Mr. P. M. Henkel, "there was no asylum for the care of the poor and indigent persons. Such as were dependent upon public charity were farmed out by the county commissioners for their support by the year to the lowest responsible bidder. At this date (1845) but two persons in the county were thus provided for. The first farm purchase by the county to be used as an asylum for the poor was located in Jefferson township and consisted of eighty acres. A superintendent was appointed and all indigent persons transferred to his care." This poor farm was two and a half miles northwest of Goshen, and was known as the Adam Harman farm.
In 1847 Miss Dix, the eminent philanthropist and reformer of prison conditions, visited on her tour of inspection the institutions of Elkhart County, and her strictures relative to the county poor farm were especially severe. The poor house, to quote Miss Dix's report as it appeared in a local paper of that year, "is situated several miles from Goshen, and has a farm of eighty acres, forty of which are cultivated. No dwelling is as yet constructed for the poor of sufficient capacity for their suitable accommodation. The situation of this establishment is remote and difficult of access." Only three individuals were kept there at the county expense at that time, so that it is hardly surprising that the home had not yet reached the dignity and efficiency of a public institution.
Perhaps this criticism led to the action of the county board in 1853 by which a substantial building was planned for the accommodation of the county's almoners. This house was erected on Elkhart prairie, five miles southeast of Goshen, on the old Fort Wayne road. The poor house burned in February, 1871, but was replaced by another in the summer of that year. In 1882 the county commissioners traded with W. D. Platter for a marsh farm of 453 acres between Bristol and Elkhart in the St. Joseph river. This trade was recinded by the new board of commissioners elected in 1882, and, Platter refusing to surrender the old farm, a law suit followed. The case was in the courts two years, was tried in the circuit court at LaGrange before Judge Robert Lowry, of Fort Wayne, who decided in favor of the county. Platter took an appeal to the supreme court, where Judge Lowry's decision was affirmed, so that the county continued in the possession of its farm on Elkhart prairie several years longer.
In 1885 the farm in the prairie was sold, and the site of the present institution was bought of David Rupp, for the sun of five thousand dollars. The present Elkhart County farm is located at Dunlaps, in Concord township, half way between Goshen and Elkhart, and is reached by the Inter-Urban electric line. The farm contains one hundred and twenty acres, and the entire institution is a credit to the county. If Miss Dix were alive to-day and could visit this asylum her adverse criticism would, without doubt, be turned to words of praise and admiration of the efficient way in which the eleemosynary affairs of the county are administered.
The asylum building, which was erected in 1886, the original contract price being $18,800, is a brick building, two stories and basement, containing sixty-five rooms. The east side is for the women inmates, and the west for the men. At the time of the present writing an addition, 31 by 60 feet, is being built, in which will be located the hospital department, the rooms for the insane and the cells for the unmanageable inmates. At the present time there are 58 persons in the institution, this being about the average number. The largest number during the past year was 79 and the lowest 50. The present superintendent is Mr. John L. Warden, and under his direction are three lady employes, two men in the house and one on the farm, besides the fireman and janitor."
(A Twentieth Century History and Biographical Record of Elkhart County Indiana - Anthony Deahl/Editor - 1905)
