Rick Just
  • Home
  • Blog
  • Author
  • Speaker
  • Contact

The Ada County Poor Farm

11/5/2020

Comments

 
The Collister Neighborhood in Boise is full of mature trees and lovely homes today. From 1883 to 1916 it was the site of Ada County’s Poor Farm, located about where Cynthia Mann Elementary is today. The first doctor who contracted his services with the Poor Farm was Dr. George Collister. He practiced medicine in Boise for more than 50 years and owned a large orchard about six miles from downtown Boise. The area surrounding his orchard took on his name, as did the neighborhood and the street.
 
The Ada County Poor Farm was started with the best of intentions. The January 26, 1883 edition of the Idaho Statesman opined that “Some provision must be made for the care of the poor. Our present county hospital system is for the care of the indigent sick, idiotic and insane. The poor, or that class which may be in destitute circumstances, is not included in the hospital contract.”
 
The county purchased the property for the Poor Farm from John Hailey, owner of the Pioneer Stage Line, and the man for whom Hailey, Idaho was named. The purchase price of the 160 acres was $5,000.
 
Putting the poor to work, feeding them, and paying them a little money probably worked in some cases. But it soon became a place to send troublesome citizens the county didn’t know what else to do with. Boise’s notorious drunk, “Jimmy the Stiff” Hogan spent time there more than once. His only objection to the place was that there were “too many bums.”
 
It turned out that not everyone sent to the farm was capable of work and many of them were unhealthy. Over the years the facility became rundown and mostly ignored by a string of superintendents more interested in padding their pockets than helping the poor. The main building became a place to house orphans, the sick, and the senile, something it wasn’t intended for.
 
In 1915, J.K. White, state sanitary inspector, paid a visit to the Ada County Poor Farm. His recommendation was “to do away entirely with this old dilapidated, germ laden, bug infested building, and the beds and bedding.” He went on to say, “The system of having these feeble old men take care of their own beds, wash their own clothing and take care of themselves, with no one directly in charge to see that they do it, is nothing short of criminal.”
 
A few months later the county closed the poor farm and purchased a site on Fairview where they constructed a two-story nursing home that was much better designed to care for the needs of the sick and indigent.

Picture
Speaking of Idaho history posts are copyright © 2020 by Rick Just. Sharing is encouraged. If you don’t find a button that lets you do that, find the post on Speaking of Idaho. If you’re missing my daily posts, select the RSS button, or select See it First under the Facebook Following tab.
Comments
    Like and follow Speaking of Idaho on Facebook and Twitter.

    Subscribe to the Speaking of Idaho newsletter

    * indicates required
    Email Format
    Picture
    The first book in the Speaking of Idaho series is out. Ask for it at your local Idaho bookstore, find it on Amazon, or, if you want a signed copy, click the button.
    Picture
    Rick's book about Fearless Farris is available on Amazon! Click the picture above to be taken to Amazon. If you'd like an autographed copy, click the button below.

    Author, Speaker

    Rick Just has been writing about Idaho history since 1989 when he wrote and recorded scripts for the Idaho Centennial Commission’s daily radio program, Idaho Snapshots. His latest book on Idaho history is Images of America, Idaho State Parks. Rick also writes a regular column for the Idaho Press.

    Rick does public presentations on Idaho's state park history and the history of the Morrisite war for the Idaho Humanities Council's Speakers Bureau.
    ​


    Check out Rick's history of Idaho State Parks.

    The audio link below is to Rick's Story Story Night set called "Someplace Not Firth"

    RSS Feed

Speaking of Idaho history posts are copyright © 2023 by Rick Just. Sharing is encouraged. If you’re missing my daily posts, select the RSS button, or select See it First under the Facebook Following tab.

*As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. That means if you follow a link (generally to a book) from my page to an Amazon page, I get a tiny percentage of any purchase you may make.