The Search for Pulaski County's Poor Farm (August 2009)

During one of the transcription sessions, I saw an entry that was made for the purchase of two coffins for the price of $6. I also saw numerous entries of persons who had died while residents of the farm. Causes of death ran the gamut of old age, paralysis, pneumonia, dropsy of the heart, consumption, stillborn, just to name a few. Then it became important to me know where these people's final resting place was. Terrie Runion and I had located the Poor Farm resident's building, which is still standing, in August 2009. Locating the Poor Farm was largely based off this clue:

"The turn of the century map shows the old Houston Road leading south from
Waynesville following the Roubidoux before turning east to the uplands.The road passes many of the small hamlets that developed during the late nineteenth century that will be discussed further below. It actually crosses Roubidoux Creek twice; once at Kerr’s Mill and again further south.The Spring Creek Road, that runs east and west across the plateau, dead ends into the Houston Road north of Kerr’s Mill. At that intersection was the county farm or Poor Farm."

Another clue was that the Poor Farm was located two miles south of Waynesville. On a hunch, Terrie and I decided to go down Spring Road, also known as Superior Road. It was one of the few old roads that would have went South from Waynesville. We set the trip odometer and almost as soon as we reached our two mile point, we saw the Resident's building of the Poor Farm, still standing, a sentential to the crossroads of two of Pulaski County's most traveled roads in their time, Spring Creek Road and Houston Road. It was a strange, yet familiar discovery. Just as many other residents of Pulaski County have done throughout the years, we had traveled this road on many occasions as a way to avoid traffic up Waynesville Hill and down the Fort Leonard Spur. The house with all the peacocks had stood silently, waiting for the dust from our passing car to settle, as we continued into St. Robert, without a clue as to the history of this old, weathered structure.