A county poor farm seems to be a public necessity. It is said, and with much truth, that "The poor you have with you always so that among the first of the important things of a new county was to provide for the poor. At the session of the board of supervisors in October, 1860, the board, consisting at that time of William R. Robbins, of Coe township, N. C. Payne, of Chippewa, and C. H. Rodd, Isabella, with Robbins as chairman and 1. E. Arnold as county clerk. On motion of Supervisor Payne, Albert G. Ferris, of Isabella, James Mowser, of Chippewa, and Cyrentis Kinter, of Coe, were appointed as county superintendents of the poor for Isabella county.

At the same session the board of supervisors set apart a fund of one hundred ninety dollars for the support of the poor. The superintendents entered upon their duties and disbursed the funds as the necessity occurred. The first year they spent ninety-one dollars and twenty-five cents and in 1862 the sum of two hundred sixty-one dollars and thirteen cents, and in the next year the sum of two hundred sixty-five dollars and sixty-two cents. This method continued until the October session of the board of supervisors, 1864, when the following resolution was passed:

On motion of Stephen Humphrey, a majority of the board voted to purchase a farm for the use of the county poor. The vote stood, yeas, Stephen Humphrey, F. J. Williams, W. H. Nelson, William Tiffany and A. G. Ferris, and nays, James Wilsey. At the same session a resolution was passed to raise the sum of three thousand dollars to purchase and improve the farm and Ferris Humphrey and Tiffany were appointed a committee to purchase a farm."

On January 2, 1865, the committee reported the following: "Your committee visited and inspected the farms of the following named persons; the sums set opposite is the price asked for said farms at the time of inspection: William F. Payne, wheat on the ground and farming tools included, $3,000; M. Bradley and J. Foutch, $2,100; H. T. Sherman, wheat on the ground and farming utensils included, $3,000.

"Your committee did not make a selection of either, but left that open for your action. Signed, A. G. Ferris and Stephen Humphrey, Committee."

January 10, 1865, the offer of William F. Payne of his farm for a poor farm was unanimously adopted and on the same day a resolution ordering the chairman and clerk of the board to draw orders on the treasurer of the county for three thousand dollars and deliver the same to William F. Payne on the delivery of a good and sufficient deed of the farm and the delivery of the possession thereof. On October 12, 1865, the board of supervisors authorized the superintendents of the poor to engage a suitable person to care for the poor farm.

The farm consisted of one hundred sixty acres of land, with fair buildings for the time, as it was only ten years after the first settler came to the county. About four years ago the county purchased forty acres of land adjoining at one thousand eight hundred dollars. The farm has been run ever since and has been a good paying investment to the county, and. has served a noble purpose in providing a good home, with nourishing food and care and medical attendance when sick to those so conditioned that they are unable to care for themselves.

The farm has increased in value and is now worth about twenty thousand dollars. The average number of inmates to be cared for last year was twenty- two. It cost last year to run the farm and care for the inmates as reported by the superintendent of the poor the sum of $11,461.98.

Paid out for Physicians and Medical Services ......... $759.58

For Permanent Paupers .......................... 498.91

For Postage and Telephone ................... .... 24.66

For Transportation ............................. 59.42

Hospital Expenses ............................... 139.30

Total .................................... $1,480-87

They further report that they turned into the county from the farm $1,491.61 and had a balance on hand on October 11, 1910 of $238.88.

The county farm expenses were as follows: Salary of keeper, $700; hand labor, $385.95; help in the county house, $145.50; food, $616.06; clothing, $263.30; drugs and medicine, $63.20; burial expenses, $51; coal and wood, $183.70; turpentine, $7.75; insurance, $27.15; telephone, $33.66; newspapers, $4; farm tools and repairs, $159.48; grain and seeds, $54.11; stock, $24; phos- phates, $179.93; ditch tax, $60.06; transportation, $87.82; fruit trees, $17; threshing and bailing- hay, $64.34; binder twine, $13.04; fencing, $75; building barn and painting, $1,392.66; putting bath and closets, $900; tile for farm and laying, $242.69; total, $5,050.89.

Beside the expenses at the poor farm, there was expended in temporary relief by the supervisors of their townships the following amounts:

The present superintendents are Charles Cassady, J. A. Struble and R. H. Gardner. The present value of the farm and improvements is about thirty thousand dollars. They have now about twenty-six inmates to care for.  The amount appropriated for the support of the poor for the year 1911 is the sum of nine thousand dollars.

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