Proposed New County Farm to Replace
50 year old Frame Structure
The Dickinson county board of supervisors first considered a Dickinson County Home at their June Meeting in 1904. The issue was considered desirable and at the November election in that same year, the public gave a big majority vote in favor of a bond issue for the proposed new home.
The bond issue in that election 52 years ago called for $10,000 to be used for the new home. The following March, 1905, the supervisors completed a deal with the late Sam Holcomb to purchase the 120 acres which is the County Farm. The purchase price was $59.00 an acre.
The farm has produced much of the food for the county home during those 52 years,and considerable extra money for the poor fund. The proposed new building will face directly north, parallel to the hard surface highway which passes the farm. It will be located west of the present driveway into the present buildings.
The front of the proposed building contains the main entrance and a reception center. There will be a small infirmary in the the center wing with three beds on each side. This will be just to the rear of the reception center.
The west wing will house the men with a men's lounge and the east wing will house the women with a women's lounge. The rear wing is a service wing with kitchen, dining room, laundry and sewing room. Below the kitchen is a peel room to be used for the preparation of all vegetables and other foods. The heating plant is located below the kitchen.
In the center of the wings is a protected sun court that will be important for convalescents and wheelchair patients. The present plans are all tentative,and are being altered as needed to better suit the local needs.
The new home will cost approximately $200,000 to be paid for with a levy of not to exceed one mill. The supervisors state that the new home will care for double the present capacity, with considerable savings to the taxpayers of the county.
The poor farm was located 2 1/2 miles south and one mile west of Spirit Lake at 2273 170th Street. After the poor farm closed in the 80's? the home operated as Oak Haven. The Oak Haven service provider was Season Center for Community Health. The facility was closed due to mold and other maintenance issues. The Pride Group began operating the facility in 2010. They discontinued services in 2017. The home was demolished in 2019. The property became part of the Dickinson County Nature Center and was used for an indoor-outdoor shelter at the nature center.
From
Milford Mail May 3, 1956
Dickinson County News December 12, 2018
| 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 23 | 24 | 25 | |
| Phippin (Phippis), | Edward | Head | M | W | 45 | M1 | 17 | Iowa | New York | New York | English | Superintendant | Farm | Yes | Yes | |||
| Phippin (Phippis), Cora | Wife | F | W | 43 | M1 | 17 | 2 | 2 | Iowa | New York | Illinois | English | Assistant | Yes | Yes | |||
| Phippin (Phippis), Eva | Daughter | F | W | 15 | S | Iowa | Iowa | Iowa | English | None | Yes | Yes | Yes | |||||
| Phippin (Phippis), Harold | Son | M | W | 5 | S | Iowa | Iowa | Iowa | English | None | Yes | Yes | Yes | |||||
| Phelan, Harry | Lodger | M | W | 32 | S | Iowa | US | US | English | ? | Farm | Yes | Yes | |||||
| Brakeman, Fritz | Inmate | M | W | 54 | S | ? German | ? German | ? German | English | None | Yes | Yes | ||||||
| Vance, Mary A. | Inmate | F | W | 79 | M1 | 5 | 3 | Ohio | Pennsylvania | Ohio | English | None | Yes | Yes | ||||
| Thomson, Albert | Inmate | M | W | 6? | S | New York | New York | Massachusetts | English | None | Yes | Yes |
| 5 | 6 | 7 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 21 | 23 | 25 | 26 | 27 | Peck, William | Head | R | M | W | 54 | M | Yes | Yes | Pennsylvania | Pennsylvania | Pennsylvania | Yes | Farmer | General Farm |
| Wife | F | W | 45 | M | Yes | Yes | New York | New York | New York | Yes | None | ||||
| Peck, Mildred H. | Daughter | F | W | a19 | S | No | Yes | Yes | Iowa | Pennsylvania | Iowa | Yes | None | ||
| Peck, Arvilla | Son | M | W | 17 | S | Yes | Yes | Yes | Iowa | Pennsylvania | Iowa | Yes | None | ||
| Peck, Leo | Son | M | W | 12 | S | Yes | Yes | Yes | Colorado | Pennsylvania | Iowa | Yes | None | ||
| Thompson, Albert | Lodger | M | W | 77 | S | Yes | Yes | New York | New York | New York | Yes | None | |||
| Tysor, Mrs. Mary | Lodger | F | W | 30 | M | Yes | No | Illinois | Illinois | Illinois | Yes | None | |||
| Tysor, Harry | Lodger | M | W | 12 | S | Yes | Yes | Yes | Kansas | Illinois | Illinois | Yes | None | ||
| Schuneman, Mrs. Clara | Lodger | F | W | 60 | W | Yes | Yes | Illinois | Virginia | Virginia | Yes | None |
| 5 | 6 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 |
| Smith, Chalmer | Head | M | W | 28 | M | 24 | No | Yes | Iowa | Iowa | Iowa | |||
| Wife | F | W | 29 | M | 25 | No | Yes | North Carolina | North Carolina | North Carolina | ||||
| Smith, Joy | Dau | F | W | 1/12 | C | No | Iowa | Iowa | Iowa | |||||
| West, Bessie | Servant | F | W | 50 | Wd | No | Yes | Iowa | Missouri | Ohio | ||||
| West, Merlyn | Lodger | M | W | 14 | S | Yes | Yes | Colorado | Illinois | Iowa | ||||
| Thompkins, Emmar | Inmate | F | W | 58 | S | No | Yes | Iowa | U.S. | U.S. | ||||
| Ray, Lottie | Inmate | F | W | 57 | Wd | No | Yes | Iowa | Ohio | New York | ||||
| Davis, John | Inmate | M | W | 69 | Wd | No | Yes | U.S. | U.S. | U.S. | ||||
| Olson, Engebor | Inmate | F | W | 80 | Wd | No | Norway | Norway | Norway | Norwegian | Un | Un | ||
| Stewart, Mary | Inmate | F | W | 87 | Wd | No | Pennsylvania | U.S. | U.S. | |||||
| Kannenberg, William | Inmate | M | W | 59 | S | No | Germany | Germany | Germany | German | 1894 | N | ||
| Blasdell, A. H. | Inmate | F | W | 83 | Wd | No | New York | U.S. | U.S. | |||||
| Packard, Seward | Inmate | M | W | 69 | M | No | Wisconsin | Vermont | Pennsylvania | |||||
| Borchard, Ferdinand | Inmate | M | W | 73 | Un | No | Yes | Germany | Germany | Germany | German | 1890 | N | |
| Blair, Mabel | Inmate | F | W | 31 | S | No | Iowa | Iowa | Iowa | |||||
| Woods, George | Inmate | M | W | 16 | S | No | Yes | Iowa | U.S. | U.S. | ||||
| Routh, Bob | Inmate | M | W | 51 | Wd | No | Yes | Missouri | Missouri | Missouri | ||||
| Hinshaw, Mary | Inmate | F | W | 86 | Wd | No | Yes | Illinois | Virginia | Virginia |
