The Fundamental Institution : Poverty, Social Welfare, and Agriculture in American Poor Farms

The use of almshouses to shelter the impoverished was common across the United States because relief was the responsibility of local areas, and local officials oversaw, with little state interference, the operation of their institutions. This book explores the most common type: poor farms. These publicly funded facilities paired a farm with an institution to save money on supplies while acting as an investment for counties. After the Civil War, poor farms increased because of the industrializing economy, economic downturns, and a growing population.The most common type of poor farm housed fewer than 100 people, who were provided shelter, food, and health care, and in return did light work if they were able. Working for care was not a condition of admission, nor were there means tests. Unlike penitentiaries or reformatories, poor farms often resembled large families headed by a superintendent and matron. People used them situationally as needed and often arrived and left under their own volition. Men and women, young and old, disabled and nondisabled people experienced poor farm life differently based both their own needs and the conditions of the institution itself, which varied widely. Poor farm populations were more likely to be elderly men than younger woman. As agriculture industrialized, farms became less efficient components of institutions while the healthcare needs of residents increased dramatically, rendering the poor farm obsolete. By the early 1900s, the poor farm had become a ubiquitous part of America's social welfare system. Megan Birk's history of this foundational but forgotten institution focuses on the connection between agriculture, provisions for the disadvantaged, and the daily realities of life at poor farms. Conceived as an inexpensive way to provide care for the indigent, poor farms in fact attracted wards that ranged from abused wives and the elderly to orphans, the disabled, and disaster victims. Most people arrived unable rather than unwilling to work, some because of physical problems, others due to a lack of skills or because a changing labor market had left them behind. Birk blends the personal stories of participants with institutional histories to reveal a loose-knit system that provided a measure of care to everyone without an overarching philosophy of reform or rehabilitation. In-depth and innovative, The Fundamental Institution offers an overdue portrait of rural social welfare in the United States. | Acknowledgments vii Introduction 1 1 The Founding of Community Institutions 15 2 Populations and Conditions 46 3 Farming for the County 74 4 Poor Farm Women 104 5 The Poor Farm and Mental Health Care 130 6 Old Age and Poor Farm Residency 154 7 Poor Farms and Health Care 175 8 Crisis and Transition 198 Epilogue 216 Appendix 221 Notes 223 Bibliography 259 Index 283 |"Extends the work Birk did in her first book, Fostering on the Farm: Child Placement in the Rural Midwest (2015) . Both books critically examine the institutions and policies that sought to serve vulnerable rural populations. . . . Taken together, this scholarship is essential for anyone interested in understanding how ideas about farming and family shaped the experiences of America's rural poor and marginalized people." — H-Net Reviews "This well-written and researched book is a 'must read' for anyone interested in the role that the poor farm played in welfare strategies for rural Americans." — Kansas History "A well-argued book based on impressive research and organized in a set of well-constructed chapters. It is an impressive contribution to the history of American social welfare systems and to American rural life from 1870s to 1930." — Missouri Historical Review | Megan Birk is a professor of history at University of Texas Rio Grande Valley. She is the author of Fostering on the Farm: Child Placement in the Rural Midwest . By the early 1900s, the poor farm had become a ubiquitous part ofAmerica's social welfare system. Megan Birk's history of thisfoundational but forgotten institution focuses on the connectionbetween agriculture, provisions for the disadvantaged, and thedaily realities of life at poor farms. Conceived as an inexpensiveway to provide care for the indigent, poor farms in fact attractedwards that ranged from abused wives and the elderly to orphans, thedisabled, and disaster victims. Most people arrived unable ratherthan unwilling to work, some because of physical problems, othersdue to a lack of skills or because a changing labor market had leftthem behind. Birk blends the personal stories of participants withinstitutional histories to reveal a loose-knit system that provideda measure of care to everyone without an overarching philosophy ofreform or rehabilitation.

In-depth and innovative, The Fundamental Institutionoffers an overdue portrait of rural social welfare in the UnitedStates.