The County Poor Farm

Ghent,

Columbia County,

New York

By Capt. Franklin Ellis367

1878

     A short distance northeast from the village of Ghent are the County Poor Farm and buildings connected therewith.  They were located here on account of the central position of the place.  The farm comprises two hundred acres of land, in a high state of cultivation, whose products afford considerable revenue.  The present main building, which is a substantial brick structure, was erected in 1857, at a cost of $22,000.   The lunatic asylum, on the same farm, was completed in 1877, and has at present thirty-five inmates.  The poor-house has two hundred and thirty-seven inmates.  These institutions are noticed at greater length in the general history of the county.    

  Poor House Residents from the 1880 Census

 

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