Copyright USGenNet Inc., 2014 All Rights Reserved USGenNet Data Repository Please read USGenNet Copyright Statement on this page: Transcribed and submitted by Linda Talbott for the USGenNet Data Repository http://www.us-data.org/ ========================================================================= USGenNet Data Repository NOTICE: These electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit or presentation by any other organization. Non-commercial organizations desiring to use this material must obtain the consent of the transcriber prior to use. Individuals desiring to use this material in their own research may do so. =========================================================================== Formatted by USGenNet Data Repository Chief Archivist, Linda Talbott All of the above information must remain when copied or downloaded. =========================================================================== Page 109 Biennial Report of the State Board of Corrections and Charities 1875 KALAMAZOO The poor-house of this county is situated in the township of Comstock, about two miles south-west of the village of Galesburg, on a most excellent farm, almost every acre of which is tillable. The front view is fine, and in the rear the Kalamazoo River bounds and waters the place. The farm itself seems to be well worked, and in excellent condition. The buildings look tidy outwardly, but in the interior show need of a general renovation, particularly in regard to paint and some of the plastering. There seems to be, too, special need for better ventilation, as a number of the rooms were disagreeable from the odor of confined air. The ceilings are low, and the building not well adapted for county purposes, it being originally built for a company of Fourierites, who attempted here to carry their theories of living into practice, but failure attending their enterprise, the county purchased the farm, and it has since been used as an asylum for the wretched victims of poverty. The whole number of inmates now in the institution is thirty-four. Among these are six idiots, some of whom are very low in the scale of intelligence. A German woman is here with four children, all somewhat demented. The oldest, a boy of sixteen, lies in his bed most of the time. The next is a girl, deaf and dumb, fourteen years old. The third is a girl eight years old, never speaks, -------------------------------------------------------------- Page 110 although she can talk, and has been known sometimes to con- verse with her mother in German. The youngest is a boy about two years old; he does not seem quite right. Some years since the father and mother of these children became seized with the delusion that two of their children were deities, and bestowed all manner of worship upon them, even abstaining from food, insisting that they would be mirac- ulously kept alive through the interposition of these gods. This delusion followed them until the father landed in the House of Correction, and the mother and children in the poor-house. There is one pauper here whose father was a wealthy man in the county, and who has now a wealthy brother who supplies him with clothing and some other delicacies, including three drams of liquor per day. Intemperance is the principal cause of all his trouble. =========================================================================== Abstract of the Reports Superintendents of the Poor State of Michigan, 1892 Page 40 Kalamazoo. - The poorhouse is located in the township of Comstock. Buildings are in good order. Facilities for bathing, tubs with warm and cold water. Buildings are heated by steam. We have one cook stove in the cook's department and one range in the overseer's depart- ment. Ventilation is such that every room in the house can be venti- lated without raising windows and opening doors. The treatment of paupers is good and humane. A good overseer and the best kind of a matron. The food consists of bread, meat, potatoes, coffee, tea, and a general variety of vegetables in their season. Clothing is good and comfortable, shoes, hose, and underclothing when needed. The sick are cared for at the hospital, a physician employed to attend them when needed. They are treated with kindness. As we have no violently insane persons, we let them go as they please. Do not have to shut any of them up. They are well taken care of. At present we have only four children in the house; they are sent to the district school. =========================================================================== Page 140 Biennial Report of the State Board of Corrections and Charities 1907 KALAMAZOO Infirmary a mile and a half from Galesburg. It is a two story brick building with basement, practically a three story building; is heated with steam; has good fire protection and fair ventilation; bathing facilities are good. =========================================================================== If you've reached this file through a SEARCH, you can access more of our growing collection of FREE online information by going to the following URL: http://www.us-data.org/ ===========================================================================