Cattaraugus Paupers Farm

Gypsy Heart

Gold Member
Nov 29, 2005
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Cattaraugus Pauper's Farm

1857 INVESTIGATION:

This house is built of wood, thirty-six by thirty-eight feet long. Connected is a farm of 200 acres, yielding a revenue of $1000. There are no basements. There are nine rooms or wards warmed by stoves and without ventilation. The number of inmates is thirty, one-half males. Twenty-three are of native and seven of foreign birth. Four are under sixteen years of age. There is a complete separation of the sexes; they are under the care of a single keeper. The average number of inmates is thirty-five, supported at a weekly cost of $1.40 each. The paupers are employed on the farm and in domestic avocations. The house has not been inspected by the supervisors during the year. The house is partially supplied with bibles, and there is a church near, where the paupers attend if they choose. The children attend the district school. The superintendents furnish supplies and regulate the government of the house, and prescribe the system of diet. The fare is plain and wholesome. A physician is employed by the year at a salary of $65, who attends when called. During the year have occurred three births and two deaths. No contagious disease has prevailed. Of the inmates three are lunatics, all males, and all paupers. For the accommodation of the insane are two small houses; one an old and dilapidated one, very cold in the winter from its loose construction and much decay, and at all times particularly offensive from the accumulation of filth; the other is a new structure, though an inferior one, and illy planned. This, from some reason, is very little used. In these cells the insane sleep on straw, with very little clothing, the straw becoming filled with filth before being changed. Two are confined in these cells. The insane are attended by a male pauper. None during the year are improved or cured; they receive only the same medical attendance as the remaining paupers. No application has been made for admission to the State asylum. In the house is one idiot and one blind person. Intemperance is the cause of one-half of pauperism here. The house is a poor one, and the poor, especially the insane, are illy cared for.


Stone House will be opening soon to the public. It will house the Cattaraugus County Historical Museum, along with a Cattaraugus County Health Department branch. Not exactly sure what date it will open, but I believe it's around October 13th. [2004

http://www.poorhousestory.com/CATTARAUGUS.htm
 

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ydduit

Tenderfoot
May 2, 2006
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Western NY
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Re: Cattaraugus Pauper's Farm

Gypsy,

The Poor House Farm is now the location of the Cattaragus County Nursing Home and Infirmary.

Most, if not all of the original building exist and has been added on to over the years.
 

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Gypsy Heart

Gypsy Heart

Gold Member
Nov 29, 2005
12,686
338
Ozarks
Re: Cattaraugus Pauper's Farm

We are delighted to announce the recent success of an effort to preserve the "Stone Building" -- the
only building on this campus which still stands. You may read the history of the building and also see a great photograph by clicking on this link to the county website page which also contains links to the newspaper articles covering this preservation effort.
http://www.poorhousestory.com/CATTARAUGUS.htm

This article said that the stone house was the only remaining building


CattCo.org: Cattaraugus County Web Site
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History of the Stone House: John Napier
http://www.co.cattaraugus.ny.us/museum/about/


The Cattaraugus County Poor-House in Machias, New York is the last surviving building from a complex of four that from the mid-1800's was a residence, asylum and working farm to serve the County's poor and insane. In 1860, County Supervisors commissioned the Machias Stone House to be built to serve as the centerpiece on a self sufficient farm that cared for the poor and mentally insane of the County. The Stone House, as it is referred to today, is situated on New York State Route 16, in the village of Machias, NY. It is located on property owned by the County, where a nursing facility has been located since the first half of the 19th century.

Mr. John Napier, resident of the town of Machias, NY and a well known local stone cutter was hired in 1868 to build the County's new building. Prior to this project Mr. Napier had gained skill working on such national projects as the dam across the Merrimac River in Lawrence, Massachusetts, the aqueduct across the Genesee River at Portageville, the bridge spanning the Mississippi River at St. Paul, Minnesota, and the Old State Capital building at Springfield, Ill.

These projects brought fame and fortune to the Machias resident, who in 1868 turned his skill to building a home for the poor in Machias, NY. The stone for the building was cut from the family's quarry and carved to build a structure that originally stood four floors high with a pitched roof holding a cupola. The top floor, that was comprised of the pitched roof and cupola was removed in the 1950's because of roof problems. It was at this time that the building was discontinued in its use as a nursing facility and began to be used for a clinic and administration offices.

Mr. Napier during his career built other structures in the County namely, Ten Broeck Academy in Franklinville, and the Samuel Butler home in Machias. Both of these structures have now been demolished, leaving only the Machias Stone House to stand as a monument to the work of one man who for more than forty years was actively engaged in the design and superintending the construction of public works, many of which will remain a testament to his mechanical skill. The Harlem High Bridge, Harlem, NY and the Springfield Ill. Capitol building are such examples.

In the realm of Cattaraugus County historic structures the Machias Stone House stands alone, not only as the last remnant of the work of John Napier, but as one of the oldest standing structures in our County. Historically significant to Cattaraugus County history the Machias Stone House represents the talent and craft of John Napier, who became world famous for larger works, but brought his talents home to build a structure to serve the poor and less fortunate. The Machias Stone House remains substantially intact and represents an important aspect of the history of social welfare in Cattaraugus County and New York State.
 

ydduit

Tenderfoot
May 2, 2006
9
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Western NY
Detector(s) used
Tesoro Vaquero; Garrett ACE 250
Re: Cattaraugus Pauper's Farm

My bad Gypsy...I always thought that the all the original buildings still stood...
 

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