Cass County Poor Farm
| Cass County Poor Farm | |
|---|---|
| Closed | 1945 |
| Current Status | Demolished |
| Building Style | Single Building |
| Location | Harrisonville, MO |
| Alternate Names |
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History[edit]
The Cass County Poor Farm (later referred to as the County Home) housed the county’s paupers, often those who were old, feeble, and disabled. Many inhabitants were also “pay patients,” individuals were elderly and ill whose families had paid for them to stay there during the duration of their illness. Those who were able bodied worked as laborers on the farm and several of the inhabitants spent most of their lives there. This register begins in 1901 when the poor farm was located on roughly 120 acres in the northeast corner of Dolan Township. The County Home later relocated in the spring of 1910 to just north of Harrisonville. The building constructed specifically to be used as the County Home is still standing and in use as part of the Golden Years Health Center complex on Jefferson Parkway. It remained in operation at that location until its closure in 1945.
Cemetery[edit]
When the County Home was located in Dolan Township, those who died while in the county’s care were buried in a cemetery on the grounds. County records of those deaths and burials no longer exist, if they ever existed at all. However, with the use of the Poor Farm Register, death certificates, cemetery records, and additional research, the county was able to “recreate” death and cemetery records for inhabitants who died while living at the County Home or immediately after leaving it from 1910-1953.
