Snapshot of History
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The former Ringgold County Home in May of 2007.
BY MIKE AVITT
In October 1882, The Ringgold County Board of Supervisors purchased land in sections 17 and 20 of Liberty Township for the purpose of constructing and operating a county Poor Farm. Ringgold County’s population was increasing rapidly at this time and that meant the population of poor, feeble-minded, widowed, and orphaned was increasing, also.
The first county home was opened in February 1883 at a cost of $2,000. Improvements to the farm added another $1,000 to the amount. The county home was designed to be self-sufficient with crops, an orchard, gardens, livestock, and fowl. But, not all was well at the poor farm. A November 29, 1888 Ringgold Record newspaper informs us a separate building is being constructed to house the “vicious inmates.” For decades, the newspapers referred to the residents as “inmates.”
Later newspapers give us a view of how the farm was supervised. In June 1915, Alfred Lewis resigned as the poor farm steward and was replaced by Fred Hayworth. Fred’s salary was $75 a month. In January 1916, the board of supervisors accepted bids for county home steward for the year 1916. Hayworth bid $95 a month and J. W. Cathey bid $1,000 for the year. The job went to Cathey.
Alfred Lewis got his old job back in 1918 when he bid $100 per month. Alfred was still there in 1919 when the bad news came
The May 7, 1919 Mount Ayr Record-News reports a sanitary engineer from the Iowa State Board of Health condemned the county home for “decayed and decrepit conditions,” being a “fire hazard,” and being “unsafe and unsuitable for occupancy.” One might assume the poor farm was closed at this point. One would be wrong.
A March 17, 1920 newspaper states the county home had its best year for profits. The facility earned a net profit of $1,610.58 from sales of grain, livestock, and other sales. The farm had an average of eight inmates during this period. Alfred Lewis was paid $1,500 a year for 1920.
In 1922, a new, brick building was erected at a cost of $27,000. It opened in the fall of 1922 and was 68 feet by 28 feet, two stories with a full basement. As electricity didn’t come to rural Ringgold County until 1945, the new building was equipped with an electric light plant.
The advent of Social Security in 1935, rest homes, and other facilities made the Ringgold County Home obsolete and the board of supervisors discontinued maintenance in December 1938. The last three residents left the home by March 1, 1939. Ralph Bacon was the last steward.
In 1948, Roy Larson bought the county farm at auction. In 1950, Fern Robison and F. E. Selby leased the property and opened it as Fairview Rest Home. This was the beginning of twenty-five years as a nursing home under different owners.
