Abstract
<p>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.</p>