Rotary Meeting, January 5, 2018 - Marjorie Viveen, The Ottawa County Poor Farm

What was once the Ottawa County Poor Farm is now Eastmanville Farm County Park on Leonard.  Marjorie showed a film produced and filmed by students at Ferris State University.  It tells the story of the Poor Farm through the lives of several of its residents.  The DVDs are for sale for $10 each, and 100% of the proceeds go to the Ottawa County Parks Foundation.

The Poor Farm was created to house and care for sick, injured, disabled, mentally incapacitated, and elderly individuals.  It was established as an answer for the thousands of injured and disabled soldiers returning home from the Civil War.  It was the oldest continually operating Poor Farm in the country, in operation for 130 years.  It was a communal living home with an objective to improve the quality of life for its residents.  

Peter Ploeg was a Dutch immigrant who immigrated when he was 57 years old.  He was admitted in 1876 for his third and final stay at the Poor Farm.  He was an alcoholic who was unable to care for himself due to his condition.  He died at 79 after his stay, during which he read his Bible and made peace with God.

David Hunton married his 4th wife (a 24 year old) when he was 64.  He had a beautiful home and gardens in Grand Haven Heights, overlooking the city and the river.  He was notorious and well liked int he community.  He became a judge.  When he became ill, he was sent to the Poor Farm by his family.  

Rena Kulos, a Greek immigrant, was 19 years old when she moved to Grand Haven.  In 1911, she and her husband, William, were in their apartment fighting.  The police arrived in response to a call.  William asked them to shoot her.  When they left, William decided to do it himself and shot Rena 4 times.  He was sentenced to prison and she was left a paraplegic.  She had no job, no husband, no money, and went to the poor farm.  She continued to pine for her husband.  Her mental health declined until she was beyond the resources of the Poor Farm.  They sent her to the Kalamazoo Asylum, when she died young.

Benjamin Jones - black man who fled the South and enlisted in the 102nd MI infantry in the Civil War.  He was aided by abolitionist William Ferry.  When the war was over, there were still too many risks for him in the South, so he made a home in MI.  He went to a Military Home and then went to the Farm to live out his final days.

Billy Andres - became an assistant and the GH lighthouse at age 14.  He was part of the Life Saving Service (now the USCG).  He was an amateur wrestler.  He defeated a touring national champion and became a local hero.  He served in the Life Saving Service on Manitou Island and in Montague, and then returned to GH, where he grew old and went to the Poor Farm.  His obituary was the entire front page of the Tribune.  Local legend said that he had earned the silver medal from the USCG.  His USCG records revealed that, not only did he not get the medal, but he was a terrible employee who was fired from several posts.

Social Security was passed around the same time Billy died.  The advent of Social Security created a shift in the Poor Farm from elderly care to primarily disabled care.

Joe Steele was the oldest known resident of the Poor Farm.  He lived there 58 years.  He arrived with amnesia.  When the paper published a story about Joe, Monroe Eaton recognized him.  Joe Steele was Monroe's long lost uncle, Monroe Ruddy.  He was 111 years old at his death.

In the 1970s, the Poor Farm became Community Haven.  The Farm expanded with new facilities.  A family of 4 moved in as the caretaker and care givers for the mentally ill and mentally incapacitated residents.  They had many activities and resources.  Residents were taught life skills.

In the 1980s, the trend was moving away from state-run community care facilities to private care.  The community building and infirmary were torn down and many residents moved to private facilities, if able.

It officially closed in 2000.  In 2010, the Eastmanville Farm Cemetery was dedicated.  64 graves were found using radar.  Headstones and markers were made and placed at the sites.