Sullivan County Farm
| Sullivan County Poor Farm | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Established | 1867 |
| Current Status | Demolished |
| Building Style | Pre-1854 Institutions |
| Location | Unity, NH
|
History
The Sullivan County Poor Farm began in 1866 when the county purchased 365 acres and its farm buildings in Unity, New Hampshire. The county attempted to refit the existing farm buildings to house the poor and insane, and opened its doors in December 1867.
Reports throughout the early to mid-1880s from the State Board of Health noted that the insane were kept in “miserable pens in the second story of an old shed.” There were four “strong rooms” in the shed that kept the inmates constantly confined. There was no attendant with the specific duty of taking care of the insane and no nightwatchman.
By 1885, a proper building for the insane was erected. This two-story building provided 16 sleeping rooms, two ample sitting rooms, and two bathrooms for the insane. A partition ran through the middle of the building to separate the female ward from the male ward. A later report noted that the current insane were all females and kept constantly confined. There was still no attendant for the asylum, but the Almshouse matron and her daughter would occasionally check in on the patients.
In 1891, the State Board of Health reported on the female patients kept in the asylum. At this time, there were five female patients, three of which had the freedom to roam the building as they pleased while the other two were kept locked in their room. It was noted that those three patients were frightened of the other two. One of the two patients under constant lock and key had “been locked into a close room for years, with no bed, except a mattress and blankets put in at night; no furniture whatever, not even a chair; she wore a print dress not over clean, and went barefooted.” It wasn’t until the county farm hired a female attendant who wished to work in the asylum building and focus her care on the patients there that they began to notice a positive change in the appearance and manner of the patients. The patient now had a clean room that she kept tidy herself. She kept herself clean and neatly dressed. The “change was brought about in a few days by patience and kindness. This instance is given solely to show that even the incurable insane are capable of great improvement through proper influences, and it is a most forcible argument in favor of the better care of the indigent insane.” In the years following the 1891 report, it was favorably noted that “not a patient is under lock and key throughout the day. Some of the patients that were formerly kept locked up now have their liberty almost entirely unrestrained. This condition has been brought about by personal interest in the patients and a constant effort to better their condition, the success of which has been very marked.”
The almshouse was a four-story wooden building. The kitchen and shared dining room were located on the first floor, towards the back of the home. The women’s sleeping rooms were located on the second and third floors in the west half of the building, while the men’s sleeping rooms were located on the second, third, and fourth floors of the east half. It wasn’t until 1910 that the Almshouse was fitted with electricity. Not only did the almshouse not have electricity until 1910, there was no modern plumbing or sewage, no hospital rooms, no assembly room or chapel, no sitting rooms for the women, and no sewing room.
By 1910, the insane who required special care and restraint were moved to the State Hospital at Concord. The building was then used as a house of corrections.
Over the years, additional land surrounding the existing poor farm was purchased to expand the property. In 1931, a new almshouse was built to provide care for those suffering during the Great Depression, and the name was changed to the Sullivan County Home. In 1963, a new hospital was erected on the site. Today, the Sullivan County Nursing Home provides care for the county’s elderly and those suffering from Alzheimer’s disease. The Sullivan County Department of Corrections has a facility on the ground aimed at rehabilitation and recovery. All that is left of the original buildings is the stonewall that runs along the county road leading to the nursing home and jail.
A small cemetery is located across the road from the current nursing home.
Further Reading
For an in-depth history of the Sullivan County Almshouse and a list of those buried at the cemetery, please read Silent Voices from the Past by Sara Poisson, published in 2010.
Sullivan County Almshouse (A), Insane Asylum (B), Superintendent’s cottage (C), 1889.
Sullivan County Almshouse, 1903.
Sullivan County Farm Cemetery, present day.
Almshouse dining room, 1903.
Sullivan County Nursing Home, present day.
