Allegan County, Michigan - County Buildings and Poob-Paems, 1880

County Buildings and Poob-Paems

Attempt to erect Buildings in Allegan County in 1837 - A Resolution in 1839 - A Jail and Jailer's House built - Erection of first Fire- Proof Building - Old Offices fitted up for Court-Room - Vote of Supervisors to build Court-House in 1852 - Not carried out - Tbe Baptist Church at Allegan bought for u Court-House - New Jail built in 1861 - Report of Committee in favor of new Fire-Proof Buildings in 1867 - Title to the Public Square - Erection of new Fire-Proof Building in 1871 - First Places of holding Court - Description of first Jail - Grading of Public Square - Allegan Poor- House and Farm - First Poor-Tax - First Bills for Support of Paupers - Distinction between Township and County Poor abolished - First Superintendents of Poor - Sealed Proposals for supporting Paupers - First Step toward buying Poor- Farm, in 1849 - Nothing further done until 1864^-Farm purchased in 1866 - Building of Part of Poor-House in 1868 - Construction of Main Building in 1870 - Erection of Insane Asylum in 1874 - Erection of Children's Building in 1877 - Expense of supporting Poor in 1879 - Barry County Buildings - First Jail in the Ground - Resolution of Commissioners to build Jail and Court-House in 1842 - Its Construction - Its Cost - Description - Destruction by Fire - Movements toward building a New Jail - A Committee authorized to buy Lots, make Contract, etc. - Contract for .and Erection of Present Jail - Erection of Barry County Court-House - Title of Court-House Square - First Location of County Ofiices - Their Location in the old Court-House - In the new Court-House - Barry County Poor- House and Farm - First Appointment of Superintendents of the Poor - First Movement to obtain Poor-Farm, in 1849 - Resolution to purchase Farm, 1864 - Resolution not to purchase in 1855 - Last Resolution rescinded - Farm bought in 1855 - Poor-House built in 1878.

The reader will have observed in Chapter XIV. that the board of supervisors of Allegan County, at their meeting in November, 1837, endeavored to obtain a vote of the people authorizing the sum of fifteen thousand dollars to be raised for the purpose of erecting public buildings. There is no record to show whether this vote was taken or not, but, as nothing further was done by the board in reference to it, it is fair to presume that the proposition was voted down or was not acted upon.

The next action tending toward that object was taken at a special meeting of the board of commissioners held on the 25th day of April, 1839, when the following resolution was adopted :

" RcBolved, That S. F. Llttlejohn be authorized to procure a plan for a convenient jail, to be constructed of wood, and a jail house for the jailer, to contain a convenient room for county purposes, the expense of said buildings not to exceed $1200, and receive proposals for the construction."

On the 7th day of June, the same year, the board examined the proposals for a jail and a jailer's house, submitted under the foregoing resolution. Six proposals were presented, the highest being for the sum of two thousand and ninety-five dollars, the lowest for sixteen hundred dollars. After due examination and consultation the plan and proposal presented by S. F. Littlejolin were adopted, and a contract for the erection of the proposed building was made with him. On the 27th of February, 1840, the countybuilding, then completed, was examined and accepted, and Mr. Littlejohn was released from his contract. The cost of the building was fifteen hundred and sixty-seven dollars and ninety-eight cents. Some extra work was done after

At the annual meeting of the supervisors on the 15th day of October, 1846, the sum of five hundred dollars was voted to erect a fire-proof building for county officers, and on the 8th day of January, 1847, the following resolution was adopted :

"Resolved, That in accordance with the appropriation made for that purpose, a fire-proof building be built by the county for the safety of the county records. That said building be of the size of 20 feet by 30 feet; to contain three rooms, with a hall part way across the building, to be built of brick with tin roof."

Henry H. Booth, Ralph R. Mann, and David D. Davis were appointed a building committee, with power to draw plans and specifications, advertise for proposals, make a contract, and accept the building when completed.

The contract was let to Thomas M. Russell, who erected the building the following summer, and at the session of the board in October of that year the building committee reported the completion of the structure, which report was accepted and adopted. The total cost of the building was five hundred and twenty-eight dollars and fifty cents. It was of brick, twenty feet by forty (the original plan of twenty by thirty being found to be too small), and one story high. There was a hall part way along the north side, the entrance to which was at the west end of the building. The probate judge's office was on the right of the entrance, in the southwest corner, that of the treasurer being situated next east. The office occupied by the county clerk and the register extended entirely across the east end of the building. The county clerk was authorized at this meeting to fit up that part of the county- building previously occupied for offices so as to be a convenient room for holding courts, etc.

At a session of the board in the fall of 1851, Messrs. Kellogg & Bailey were appointed a committee to inquire as to the facilities for effecting a loan, and as to the propriety of raising a tax for the purpose of building a court-house, also to draw a plan of such house and to estimate the expense of the same.

" Resolved, That the present board of supervisors order the sum of $2000, to be assessed upon the taxable property of the county of Allegan, for the purpose of building a court-house in the village of Allegan ; the same to be submitted to the people for their approval or rejection at the next annual township election."

There is no record of any action of the people on this subject, but on the 4th day of January, 1853, a resolution passed the board directing that a committee of three should be appointed to examine the brick church (Baptist), and to report their opinion as to its value and the practicability of purchasing the same for a court-house. The committee appointed consisted of Messrs. McMartin, Day, and Wheeler. At the same meeting Messrs. Bassett, McMartin, and Field were appointed a committee to negotiate with the Baptist society for the purchase of their house and lot.

County Buildings And Poor-Farms

ported that they had concluded negotiations with the Baptist society for the purchase of their house and lot, for the sum of two thousand dollars. The committee on county buildings was instructed to prepare the building for use, which was accomplished at a cost of eleven hundred and six dollars and sixty-three cents.

At the January meeting of the board in 1859, the committee on county buildings reported the necessity of erecting a new county jail, and four days later a resolution was adopted submitting to the people the question whether the sum of five thousand dollars should be expended for that purpose. A committee was also appointed to procure plans and estimates for the proposed structure. The people duly authorized its erection.

On the 2d of May, the same year, Messrs. Jameson, Chichester, Henderson, Stronof, and Raplee were appointed a committee to investigate and report in regard to a site for a jail. This committee reported the next day in favor of locating the edifice on the lot now known as the courthouse lot, and the location was duly adopted by the board. A building committee was then chosen (consisting of Messrs. Leonard Bailey, Ira Chichester, and Eli D. Granger), with instructions to advertise for proposals for the erection of a brick building with stone foundations, forty feet by fifty in size and two stories high. Twentynine feet on the west side were to be finished as a jail, with four cells below, each eight feet by twelve, and six cells above, each eight feet by ten. The front part of the building was to be the jailer's residence.

Some time elapsed before the work was commenced, and there are few records of its progress, but on the 9th of January, 1862, the committee reported that the new jail was in the possession of the sheriflF, that they had efiected a settlement with the contractor, and that the cost of the building was four thousand eight hundred and ninety dollars.

On the 4th of January, 1867, the committee on public buildings, in the board of supervisors, made a report, of which the first part reads as follows :

"Tour Committee on County buildings ask leave to report That they have examined the buildings occupied for County offices and find the same inadequate and insufficient for that purpose.

"That the Building is. not of sufficient capacity to properly accommodate the several county officers and the people who have official business to transact at said offices. That the building has become dilapidated, and the increasing demands and business of the several offices requires that a new building should be erected, more commodious, and so situated and arranged as to afford greater protection and security for the public records, papers, and property left and deposited therein.

" Your Committee have also examined the condition of the Court- House, and are of the opinion that the same is not what will soon be required for the growing business of the County, and is not provided with proper and convenient Jury Rooms, and other accommodations usual and proper for a Court-House."

Other reasons were given at length, and the committee recommended that a court-house should be built with rooms in it for the county offices, and that the sum of twentyfour thousand dollars should be raised by tax upon the county, but that the question of raising such tax be submitted to the people.

On the 15th of January, 1869, the committee of the supervisors on county buildings recommended the erection of a fire-proof building for the county offices, but nothing further was then done in relation to the matter.

On the 4th of January, 1870, a committee was appointed by the supervisors to visit the county buildings of Kent County, at Grand Rapids, and then to report a plan for the county offices of Allegan County. This committee performed its duties, and on the 7th of January presented a report, which was duly adopted. It also presented two plans for the consideration of the board. The committee recommended that the site of the court-house should be in the centre of the public square, and that of the county offices on the south side of the court-house, twenty feet from the line of Hubbard Street.

Ira' Chichester, Aianson Case, and Ira Chafiee wore appointed a building committee to superintend the construction of the proposed building, provided the electors of the county should vote the money to build the same. The board also authorized the county treasurer to, raise a temporary loan of five thousand dollars, to be used for the purpose above mentioned, with the same proviso regarding the sanction of the people.

In one of the early meetings of the same session (January, 1870), Messrs. Hardin, Mincklin, and Crawford were appointed a committee to request the prosecuting attorney to investigate the title to the public square. No detailed report is given of the result of this investigation, but a search in the register's office shows the following to be the facts in the case: On the 23d of June, 1837, Samuel Hubbard and Charles C. Trowbridge, proprietors of the village of Allegan, recorded a plat of that village in the register's office of Allegan County. The Public Square is laid out on that plat. On the 7th of April, 1847, two deeds were recorded in the register's office, - one from Samuel Hubbard and Charles C. Trowbridge to the board of supervisors of Allegan County, the other from the president, recorder, and trustees of the village of Allegan to the board of supervisors.

These deeds both recite that they dispose of " all right, title, and interest of as much of the public square as is laid out and applied for that purpose on the villageplat as may be wanted or used for county buildings and necessary appurtenances, and this grant is for no other purpose." These conveyances doubtless make the title of the county to so much of the public square at Alleganvillage as may be necessary for county buildings absolutely perfect.

At the October session of 1870 the committee on county buildings reported that they had examined the building and offices in which the public records are kept, and found them extremely unsafe, the building being, in fact, in danger of falling down, and the records and maps being more or less damaged by every heavy storm which occurred.

During the same session a resolution was adopted directing the submission to the people of Allegan County at the next annual town-meeting the question whether the sum of six thousand dollars should be raised in 1871 for the purpose of erecting county oflSces. The question was so submitted, and was decided in the affirmative.

The building was erected on the public square, and is a neat and substantial edifice of brick, forty feet by forty-two, and two stories high. It contains a hall through the centre, and offices on each side.

On the 1st of January, 1872, the committee on county offices reported the cost of the structure at that time as seven thousand four hundred and sixty-one dollars and ninety-seven cents. On the 18th of October the same year they reported the further amount expended for work on and about the new building, and for furniture and fixtures in it, at two thousand and ninety-nine dollars and twentyeight cents, making a total of nine thousand five hundred and sixty-one dollars and twenty-five cents.

The offices were first occupied by the county officers on the 1st of January, 1872, the county clerk and judge of probate occupying the upper floor, and the register and treasurer the first floor.

Location Of Court-Koom And Public Offices

LOCATION OF COURT-KOOM AND PUBLIC OFFICES. In the records of the board of supervisors for 1838 the following appropriations are to be found :

"To the Dist. Board of School District No. 1, in the Township of Allegan, For the use of School-room for holding courts in the years 18.S7 and 1838, $28.00.

The school-house mentioned above was situated on the south side of Trowbridge Street, just east of Pine Street, in the village of Allegan. Henry Booher, in whose house the grand jury met, was the landlord of the Michigan Exchange, which is still standing. Daniel Emerson's house was situated on the north side of Trowbridge Street, on the first lot east of where John Askin now resides.

The records show that in January, 1844, seven dollars was allowed to Spencer Marsh for the use of the Methodist chapel for the October term of court, and on the 15th of October, 1844, six dollars was appropriated to pay for the use of the same building during the spring term previous. Similar payments were regularly made after that time to the trustees of the Methodist chapel for the use of the room for several years, the last being in October, 1847. For some time afterward the courts were held in the basement of the jail, then standing on the southwest corner of the public square, on the north side of Hubbard Street near Walnut.* The courts were also held for a time in the basement of the Baptist church at Allegan. Upon the purchase of the property of the Baptist society, in 1856, the upper portion (then unfinished) was fitted up as a courtroom, since which time the courts have been regularly held there.

* The jailer's house was about tweuty-fonr by thirty feet, one story and a half in height, with basement in which the offices were kept. The jail was built of hewed timbers, and stood in therear of the jailer's house, being about twenty feet square and one story in height. The jailer's house now stands on the north side of the public square, and is used for a residence.

The county offices, previous to 1841, were kept at either the residences or business-places of the officers. At that time the jail was completed and the offices of the clerk and register, judge of probate, and treasurer were thenceforward kept in the basement of the jailer's house until the completion of the old fire-proof building in 1846, when they were removed to that building.

The committee on public-buildings of the board of supervisors, appointed in 1870 to superintend the erection of a building for the county offices and the grading of the site for it, found the public square about eight feet higher on the north side than at present. It was soon after graded down to its present condition, and now slopes from the centre two or three feet to the north line.

ALLEGAN COUNTY POOR-HOUSE AND FARM. The board of supervisors, in November, 1837, passed a resolution to raise six hundred dollars by tax, one hundred dollars of which should constitute a poSr-fund. This is the first official action in reference to paupers. Bill No. 31, of the county audits of 1838, debits the county as follows:

At a meeting of the county commissioners, on the 15th day of November, 1839, a resolution passed the board to abolish the distinction between township and county poor, and providing that all the poor in the county should become a general charge. At that time Elisha Ely, of Allegan, John W. Watson, of Plainfield, and George Y. Warner, of Allegan, were appointed superintendents of the poor.

By the first annual report of the superintendents, presented October 27, 1840, it would appear that but little business had been before them, as the report shows that only three dollars and twenty cents more than their salaries had been expended.

No further action in reference to the county poor is shown by the record until Jan. 3, 1849, when a committee was appointed by the board to confer with the superintendents of the poor as to the best method of disposing of paupers. It reported in favor of instructing the superintendents to give notice publicly for a reasonable time that they would receive sealed proposals for keeping the whole of the county poor. The report was accepted and adopted.

At a meeting of the supervisors, held on the 5th of January, 1849, the first step was taken toward providing a farm for the support of the county poor. The superintendents were authorized to purchase a farm of from forty to one hundred acres, with suitable buildings thereon for the accommodation of the poor, at an expense not to exceed twelve hundred dollars ; the purchase not to be concluded without the concurrence of the entire board.

No report was made of the purchase of a farm, and in October, 1851, Messrs. Kellogg, McMartin, and Heath were appointed a committee to inquire and report to the

Nothing appears to have been done, as thirteen years elapsed before any further action was taken. On the 12th day of October, 1864, the superintendents of the poor earnestly recommended to the supervisors to provide a more permanent and suitable location for the county poor than the temporary places then occupied.

Two years later, on the 14th day of January, 1866, a committee which had been appointed to examine farms for county purposes reported that it had received several proposals, covering land valued at from twenty-five to fifty dollars per acre, and that after due examination it recommended the farm of J. P. Pope as the best suited for the purpose. The report says :

" It contains 160 acres, about 95 acres improved, an orchard of 100 bearing ap^e-trees, a fair grain and corn barn and small dwelling, about 300 sap-buckets, about 20,000 feet of pine logs. The farm ia the southeast quarter of section 5, township 2 north, range 13 west (Allegan), and eould be purchased for $7000."

On the 14th day of October, '1867, the committee on county buildings reported that it had examined the county farm, buildings, and conveniences, and recommended an appropriation of one thousand dollars, to be expended in buildings for the accommodation of the poor and insane ; the means then in use being entirely inadequate for the purpose. The next day Joseph Fisk, Ira Chichester, and Dr. 0. D. Goodrich were appointed a committee to make, or cause to be made, a plan and an estimate for a poor-house on the poor-farm. This committee made a verbal report Jan. 15, 1868, and submitted a plan for a buildin", which report was accepted and adopted.

On the 14th day of October, 1868, the building committee reported that the poor-house was in course of construction, and that the expense thus far incurred amounted to twelve hundred and eighty-eight dollars and ninety cents. On the 13th of January, 1869, the same committee reported the building completed, at a cost of two thousand and ninety dollars and seven cents.

Two days after the acceptance of the new building the committee on the poor-farm reported that a certain portion of the poor were yet compelled to occupy the old building, which was rapidly falling into decay, and recommended that measures be taken to secure the completion of the main building, according to the plan originally designed, and that the board authorize a loan of three thousand dollars for that purpose.

" Reaolved, By the Board of Supervisors of Allegan County, that the Chairman and Clerk of this Board be authorized to issue bonds upon the credit of this county to the amount of $5000, for the erection and completion of the buildings for the reception of the Poor.

" Reaolved, That in cose the Legislature of this State authorize said Board to issue bonds upon the credit of this County for the erection and completion of the building for the reception of the Poor of said County, we do hereby authorize and instruct the building committee to erect and complete said buildings at a cost not to exceed the sum of

No immediate action was taken, and on the 7th day of January, 1870, the committee on the poor-farm again urged the board to take immediate action in regard to the completion of the main building of the poor-house. The next day the superintendents of the poor were instructed by the board to build the main building of the poor-house, after a plan in the oflSce of the county treasurer ; said building to be completed by the 10th day of October in that year.

The work was pushed rapidly forward, and on the 13th of October, 1870, the poor-committee reported the structure completed, in a creditable and satisfactory manner, at a cost of seven thousand four hundred and sixty-one dollars and ninety-seven cents.

During the year 1874 a committee of the board of supervisors visited the insane asylum at Kalamazoo, to obtain information bearing on the expediency of erecting a building for the insane of Allegan County. After a conference with the authorities of the asylum, and a thorough examination of the subject, the committee recommended the board to erect a building for that purpose.

The board accordingly authorized the superintendents of the poor to erect such a structure on the poor-house farm, at an expense not exceeding one thousand dollars.

The building was erected during the summer and autumn of that year. It was two stories in height, containing four rooms in the basement, and sixteen above. It was occupied on the 1st of January, 1876. The total cost was thirteen hundred and twenty-eight dollars and sixty-two cents.

On the 3d day of January, 1877, the board of supervisors adopted a resolution looking towards the erection of a separate building for children on the poor-house farm, and directing the appointment of a committee to examine regarding the size and expense of such a work. Two days later the committee appointed under that resolution recommended the construction of a building thirty by forty-six feet, to be divided into rooms, the cost of which should not exceed the sum of fifteen hundred dollars. The board adopted the report, and the committee on county buildings was placed in charge of the work. On the 11th day of January, 1878, it reported the Juvenile Building completed and occupied, having been placed in charge of the superintendents of the poor on the 1st of December, 1877. The contract price was fourteen hundred and forty-nine dollars and forty-nine cents, and the entire cost was sixteen hundred and thirtythree dollars and thirty-nine cents.

The expense of supporting the poor for the year 1879, as given in the report of the superintendents, was ten thousand and eight dollars and thirty-six cents.

The First Jail

THE FIRST JAIL. The first place set apart for the detention of prisoners was located on the south side of the court-house square, on the corner of Broadway and Court Streets.

This place was a hole in the ground, about six feet deep and ten feet square, covered with plank about four feet above the surface of the earth. This was used until the building of the jail and court-house, in 1842 - 13.

THE OLD JAIL AND COIIRT-HOXJSE. Tlie first record that appears on the hooks in reference to a county jail and court-house is that of the proceedings of the board of county commissioners on the 13th of January, 1842, which reads as follows :

" The first business nnder consideration was the subject of building a jail. After the subject had been fully discussed, drafts were made, together with estimates upon the same.

" The Board resolved that it is expedient for the county at this time to erect a jail together with a room suitable for holding courts. Therefore, further lieiolved, that we will adopt a plan as soon as may be, receive proposals, and let the job of erecting the said building to the lowest bidder."

The commissioners commenced the erection of the courthouse and jail in the spring of 1842. Before its completion the board of county commissioners was abolished and its powers transferred to a board of supervisors, which held its first meeting on the 4th of July, 1842. The contract for building the combined court-house and jail was awarded to H. J. Kenfield, and in the treasurer's account for 1842 appears this item, "To H. J. Kenfield on contract, 8425.77." The building was not finished until the 25th of December, 1843, and in the treasurer's report for 1843 appears another item, " To H. J. Kenfield on contract, 8788.15," making the whole cost of the court-house and jail twelve hundred and thirteen dollars and ninety-two cents. During the session of the board in the fall of 1843, Messrs. Lacey and Alden were allowed thirty dollars " for doing their contract better than it called for." This work was on the well and out-buildings. At this session it was likewise voted, "That A. C. Parmelee be requested to cause two slats of wood to be properly put on before each window in the court-room, for a protection against damage of said windows. Also to procure and put-up a suitable curtain in the rear of the judge's bench ; and further, that the table for the use of the bar in said courtroom be covered with suitable cloth."

On the 25tb of December, 1843, the court-house and jail were reported complete, and authority was given to have it insured in the Marshall Mutual Fire Insurance Company, which was done. The building was two stories in height, the court-room being in the upper story. The jail, consisting of four cells, was in the southeast corner of the building, on the lower floor. The jailer's residence was in the southwest corner, while the county offices occupied the front part of the building. This court-house was in use until 18J6, when it was destroyed by fire, which caught near the chimney in the jailer's residence.

1847, resolved to build a court-house, and invited individuals to present plans and specifications. Flans were accordingly presented, and the following resolution was adopted Jan. 6, 1847 :

" Resolved, That the county give the man who will build the courthouse according to the plan agreed upon by the board two thousand two hundred dollars, provided that proper steps (to the house) be included, and the siding, all the doors and door-oasings, window-casings on the outside, corner boards, water table, etc., be of good yellow pine lumber; further reference to be had to bill drawn by John Lewis.*'

On the 9th of January John Lewis was allowed one dollar for drawing a bill of expenses for building the courthouse. On the 28th of April, 1847, the board finally adopted the plan presented by Mr. Lewis, and on the same date a contract to build the court-house was executed by the property committee and Alvin W. Bailey. The final price agreed upon was two thousand three hundred and eighty-one dollars and nine cents, an addition having been made to pay for raising the house and chimneys two feet higher than the original plan. The time for completion was also extended to the 15th of March, 1848.

On the 30th of April, 1847, it was resolved by the board of supervisors " that the court-house to be built by A. W. Bailey be set directly south of the wall on which the old court-house stood, so that the north side of the house come within two feet of the south wall of the old house."

The' court-house was not finished at the date specified, and the time was extended till October, 1848, a new contract being drawn March 16, 1848. On the 19th of January, 1849, the supervisors examined the court-house, then nearly completed, and at their session the next day it was accepted. Settlement was made with Mr. Bailey the same day, on condition that he give bonds with sufficient security for the entire completion of the court-house, in conformity to the contract. Later in the same session Mr. Bailey presented a bond agreeably to the resolution, which was accepted and approved, and Mr. Bailey was allowed three hundred dollars for extra work over and above the amount he was to receive by his contract, and three hundred dollars for furniture. John Lewis was allowed seventy-five dollars " for his skill and attention given in the erection of the court-house." Soon after, in January, 1849, the offices of the county clerk, register, treasurer, and sheriff were removed to the new court-house, where they still remain.

The square on which the court-house stands was deeded by the Hastings Village Company to the supervisors of Barry County on the 15th of October, 1840, the deed being recorded in Liber B, page 424, Oct. 18, 1842. Thig square is on the plat that is designated in the deed from Eurotas P. Hastings to the Hastings Village Company, dated July 26, 1836, as the " Barry County-Seat Purchase."

The Present Jail

THE PRESENT JAIL. Nothing was done toward erecting a new jail until the fall session of 1851, when H. J. Kenfield was appointed a committee by the board of supervisors to procure a plan for building a jail, which he was to present at the next session. No mention is made of such a plan being presented at the next meeting, although the propriety of building a jail was then under consideration. A resolution was offered by Mr. Salisbury to raise two thousand dollars for the purpose of building a jail and to lay the question before the electors of the county at the spring election of 1852. This resolution was lost.

The subject was not brought up for consideration till the 10th of October, 1853, when the board appointed Cleveland Ellis, John Miles, and E. R. Carpenter a com- mittee to investigate in regard to the practicability of building a jail. The report of the committee was substantially embodied in the following extract :

" That the county of Barry proceed to build a. jail of the dimensions of the upright building of the Calhoun County jail, and that a committee of three be appointed to purchase a site and get a plan, and make an estimate upon the probable cost, and lay the same before the board at their next session. The committee also report favorably of the purchase of village lots Nos. 583 and 584."

The report was adopted, and it was resolved that the sum of one thousand dollars should be raised by tax that year to be applied to the construction of the jail. Nathan Barlow, Jr., G. K. Beamer, and E. R. Carpenter were appointed the committee for the purpose mentioned in the report.

At the next session of the board, in January, 1854, the committee on the jail made a verbal report, which was accepted, and the committee was discharged. Messrs. Barlow, Ellis, and Beamer were then appointed a committee to superintend the building of the jail, to purchase lots on which to place the same, to let the contract for building it, agreeably to the specifications and plans adopted by the board, to draw upon the county treasurer for such moneys as might become due to the contractor, and to report to the board of supervisors at its next session. A contract for the erection of the building was duly entered into by Messrs. Ferris and Edgecourt. The land on which the jail was erected was purchased of Oliver N. Boltwood, the deed bearing date March 27, 1854, and being recorded April 13th the same year. The price paid was one hundred and fifty dollars ; the premises are known as lots 729 and 730, and are situated on the south side of Court Street, between Park and Washington Streets, in the village of Hastings. There the present jail was erected during the summer of 1854.

Location Of Official Quarters

The oflSces of the county during the first year or two after its organization were kept in an addition to the double log house owned by Abner C. Parmelee, situated on the north end of the lot that corners on Broadway and Water Streets, about fifteen rods south of the bridge. Upon the completion of the first court-house and jail they were removed to that building. After its destruction the oflSces were kept at the business-places or residences of the oflScers. On the 19th of January, 1849, the officers were instructed to remove their papers to the offices fitted up for that purpose in the new courtrhouse. All the principal county officers now have their offices in that building, except the probate judge, whose office is located on the north side of Broadway, in the city of Hastings.

Superintendents of the poor were appointed at the first session of the county commissioners after the organization of Barry County, in 1839. From this time until 1849 no special mention is made of any effiart for the relief of paupers, whose board had been hired by the superintendents at the lowest rates possible.

be requested to solicit and obtain terms and information preparatory to purchasing and building a county poor-house and premises, and report to the board of supervisors at their annual session."

The superintendents made no report that is on file in reference to a purchase, and nothing further is recorded concerning it until 1853, when the subject was again brought up.

The superintendents then earnestly recommended the board to take some action relative to obtaining a county poor-farm, whereupon W. W. Ralph was appointed an agett to open a correspondence and elicit such information as would be useful in obtaining a suitable farm for that purpose.

On the 11th of October, 1854, the board of supervisors resolved " That a tax of eight hundred dollars be assessed upon the taxable property of the county, to be applied towards the purchasing a county poor-farm, and that R. N. Hanna, D. G. Robinson, and Hiram Lewis be appointed a committee to select a proper location for said farm and report to the board at its next meeting." On the 2d of January, 1855, this committee made its report, which was not adopted, and the board resolved not to purchase a poor-farm. The record of the next day's proceedings on this subject is as follows :

" The resolutions passed yesterday not to purchase a farm for the county poor was rescinded, and Messrs. John Miles, 0. B. Sheldon, and Silas Bowkcr were appointed a committee, with the powers conferred in the following resolutions, to wit : Resolved that the committee purchase a poor-farm as soon as practicable, to select a proper location, and to exercise their own judgment as they shall think proper in the situation and purchase of such farm, and they shall have power to draw upon the county treasurer for money to pay for said farm not exceeding eight hundred dollars."

A farm of one hundred acres was purchased of John L. MoLellan, it being the west half of the southeast quarter and the east twenty acres of the southwest quarter of section 27, in township 3 north, in range 8 west (Hastings). The deed for this property bears date Feb. 17, 1855, and is on record in Liber M, page 19, of Barry County deeds. The price paid was three thousand five hundred dollars. Repairs, improvements, and additions were made upon and to the buildings from time to time, until the October session of the supervisors in 1877. The committee on county buildings then reported that they found the poor-house entirely unfit for the comfortable keeping of the inmates, and recommended the board to construct a new one, containing rooms for the comfort of the insane ; the material to be brick, and the cost not to exceed six thousand dollars.

At the same session it was resolved that a poor-house should be erected on the poor-farm at a cost not exceeding six thousand dollars. David G. Robinson,' Lewis Durkee, and Samuel J. Bidelman were appointed a building committee to adopt plans and specifications and advertise for proposals. The money for the purpose was taken from the county contingent fund. The building was reported complete on the 9th of January, 1879, and was then given in charge of the superintendent of the poor.