Wikipedia: Multnomah County Poor Farm

The Multnomah County Poor Farm is a former poor farm located in Troutdale, Oregon, United States. Established in 1911, the building and its surrounding grounds operated as a poor farm housing the ill and indigent populations in the Portland metropolitan area at the beginning of the twentieth century, after the closure of a poor farm in the city's West Hills. Over the course of the century, the farm would come to be used as a nursing home before becoming abandoned in the 1980s.

Since 1990, the site is operated as an entertainment and lodging complex under the name McMenamins Edgefield, one of several historic properties owned, restored, and operated by the McMenamins enterprise. The property is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

In 1854 the territorial legislature gave the counties the responsibility of caring for the poor.^[2][3] 1868 saw the first pauper's farm open in the west hills of Portland. This facility, called Hillside Farm, occupied 160 acres (65 ha) near Canyon Road in Portland's West Hills; the site is now part of Washington Park.^[2][4]

Hillside Farm was closed down due to the "deplorable" condition of the building, and the Multnomah County Poor Farm was built to replace it on a budget of USD$100,000 (equivalent to $2,743,929 in 2019).^[5] The main building was constructed by a plastering crew as well as Swedish immigrants who worked as carpenters or bricklayers.^[6] In November 1911, 211 residents moved to the new farm in Troutdale.^[2][7] This new facility was the largest county-funded relief institution in Oregon.^[2] By 1914, the farm housed a total of 302 residents who helped manage various farm animals and crops.^[2]

In 1934 an infirmary wing was built to care for the aging population of the farm. In 1935, its population peaked at 614.^[2] The farm would eventually encompass 345 acres (140 ha).^[5] During 1939, a doctor's duplex was built by the Works Progress Administration (WPA). The WPA also added an incinerator, sprinkler system, and sun porch in 1940.^[2] In 1947, the name of the institution was changed to the Multnomah County Home and Farm.^[2] In the late 1950s, the farming operation ceased and the name was changed to the Edgefield Manor.^[2] In 1964, the property was converted for multi-use, with the main lodge being used as a nursing home, and an external building as the Edgefield Lodge for Emotionally Disturbed Children.^[2][1] The main building became a nursing home, which was named Edgefield Manor. Farm operations also were discontinued during this time. The entire complex was declared as the Edgefield Center by county commissioners in 1964.^[2]

In 1972, the county proposed closing the entire Edgefield facilities down,^[2] and an estimate for necessary renovations made three years later was valued at $400,000.^[7] In 1982, the remaining three patients at the facility were relocated before its official closure.^[2] During 1985, county committees decided to remove all buildings from the area except for the jail.^[2] The reason was to market the land to potential buyers. In 1986, the Troutdale Historical Society challenged the decision to destroy all of the buildings on the property.^[2] They claimed that the buildings had historical importance and needed to be preserved.

In 1990, Edgefield was named to the National Register of Historic Places. That same year, the facility was purchased by McMenamins.^[2] It features restaurants, pubs, gardens, movie theaters, a golf course, wedding locales, and an outdoor concert venue that hosts international musical acts.^[8]

See also: Reportedly haunted locations in Oregon

Steve Beaven, Gresham Focus: The Multnomah County Poor Farm was a social safety net long before the New Deal

At its peak, the farm encompassed 345 acres. In 1935, it housed 614 people, Nesbit wrote. That left the farm "way over capacity," Hills said.

Ultimately, New Deal programs and jobs created during World War II meant fewer people needed such a facility.

The only people left, wrote Nesbit, were "those who were disabled or had become so accustomed to institutional life that they were unable to live independently."

"The county jail, built on the site in 1959 largely because the land was available, had no prisoners who would toil in the fields. The dairy herd was sold in 1969 and the fields were leased. In 1964, the main lodge was renamed Edgefield and became a nursing home, the first in Oregon to offer physical rehabilitation. It served in that capacity until 1982, when the buildings were closed and all but abandoned."

Chad Abraham, McMenamins edge closer to jail purchase (July 02, 2007)

The renowned company started by Mike and his brother, Brian, is purchasing the former Multnomah County Correctional Facility property for about $3.5 million. McMenamins plans to invest a similar amount to renovate the 11,000-square-foot former jail, known as 'the Farm,' into a 50-room hotel and restaurant.

The company hopes to finalize the purchase from the county by the end of the year, Mike McMenamin said. He expects the building-permit process with the city of Troutdale to take about six months.

'We're working a lot with (the city),' he said. 'We have a pretty good relationship, and they've indicated they like it.'

According to McMenamin's timeline, construction could begin in about a year.

'We're extremely excited about it,' he said. 'It's enough property to have some fun with for any number of things.'

Besides the hotel and restaurant, plans for the 58-acre site call for gardens, a soaking pool for overnight 'inmates,' additional parking and a new golf hole nearby. There also will be amenities to host weddings - 'It's a nice space on a hillside.'

The shell of the former jail is in decent condition, and the layout lends itself well to the new design, McMenamin said. The inside is wide open, and there are just a few individual cells because it was a minimum-security facility.

Video (By Others...)

This 2017 video is pretty dull if you are looking for ghosts, but very cool if you are looking for a tour of the old jail building! Apparently, it, in 2017, at least, was mostly being used for storage by McMenamins.

Links

CLICK HERE to continue exploring the highway