Page 14 - Wayne Dispatch Pages

The history of Eloise continued (part 5)

This is part five of a multi-part
history of the Wayne County Poor-
house and Asylum, commonly
known as Eloise. A major part of the
Poorhouse at Eloise was the working
farm. All the way back in 1839 when
the county bought the black horse
tavern it came with a barn, four
cows, two oxen and some seeds. The
idea was that the poor would work tages, repair shops, blacksmith shop
the farm, making themselves useful and all the other accessory buildings
and providing supplies to the institu- you need to run a large scale farm.
tion. It was also later realized that The farm grew all the fruits, vegeta-
farmwork, whether it be in the fields bles, meats, eggs, and nearly every-
or working with animals, was thera- thing else they needed, it was
peutic for some mental patients as virtually self-sufficient, at its peak
well, something we still do today. producing 65 tons of food per
As Eloise grew so did the farm, month. Inmates (the people who
that early barn was replaced in the lived at Eloise, whether in the poor-
later 1800s by several massive barns house or mental side) would work 4-
for separate and specific uses. At its 6 hours a day if they were able, and Dairy herd at Eloise
peak the farm encompassed root cel- usually men worked on the farm, but out of the agricultural school in shut down around 1954-1955. The
lars to store vegetables, grain and could do other jobs like janitorial, Lansing. Eloise was particularly fa- animals were sold off, barns aban-
horse barns, dairy barns, pig pens, painting, maintenance, or use their mous for its prize-winning herd of doned. Eloise would have to buy all
chicken coops, greenhouses, an in- trade if they had one. Women gener- Holstein cattle. its own food from then on. Today
dustrial canning facility, and a to- ally worked in the kitchens prepar- After World War II the farm began most of the land the farm was on has
bacco barn. Interestingly they grew ing meals, cleaning, doing laundry, to lose money quickly and became a been built up, with housing develop-
their own tobacco, dried it, rolled it or mending clothes. The farm was financial burden to the county. Costs ments and a golf course on areas
and made their own cigarettes for in- very successful and was cutting edge were rising and there were less and where horses and cattle once grazed.
mates. This was in addition to hired for the time, using the latest agricul- less people coming to live at the Follow along next time as we go into
farm worker and supervisor cot- tural technology and science coming poorhouse. The farm was finally the 20s and the depression era.

14 · November 2024 · The Wayne Dispatch