[or-roots] Edgefield Poor farm

[Leslie Chapman]

Okay folks, while I was trolling for Poor Farm info the other day I ran
across the following interesting information about a Poor farm in Troutdale.
Since their site said it used to be a Poor Farm, I decided to ask if they
had any information about burials on the property. Of course you can imagine
the horror this question probably provoked in the person who first saw it;
any way two seperate folks in the organization have responded to me assuring
me that people who died on this Poor Farm were not buried there but were;

"Hi Leslie,
Thanks for the question. To the best of our knowledge no one was buried
on the property over the years. The residents that passed away here were
transported to a local cemetery or crematorium. Thanks again for the
inquiry."


"They did not bury any people on this property. It was a county run poor
farm and anybody that died here were buried in a County run cemetery."


I have responded;

"Thanks you John, I will pass that information on to the OR-roots list
folks, as I am sure sooner or later someone will come along who had a
relative that died there and they don't know where he was buried. At that
point they will be able to google and find my post instead of bothering you
folks again."


No here is the history I promised;

EDGEFIELD HISTORY

As hard as it may be to believe today, Edgefield, built in 1911, served for
several decades as the Multnomah County Poor Farm. Residents operated a
self-sufficient environment, raising hogs, poultry, growing a variety of
fruits and vegetables, operating a dairy, cannery and meat packing plant as
well as working in the laundry, kitchen and hospital.

In 1947, it was renamed the Multnomah County Home and Farm and in the late
fifties the farm operation was eliminated. In 1962, the facility was renamed
Edgefield Manor and for the last two decades of operation, functioned as a
nursing home and eventually closed in 1982.

McMenamins purchased the property from Multnomah County in 1990. In phases
lasting over four years, the condemned buildings and land were transformed
into a unique European-style village, including lodging, a pub with a movie
theater, fine dining, a winery, a brewery, distillery, golf course, gardens,
vineyards, artwork, meeting, wedding and banquet space, and special events
year round.

The historic Georgian-revival style Manor dominates the village atmosphere
and is surrounded by numerous smaller buildings that now share a role in
entertaining visitors. Local artists showcase their artwork on doors, walls,
and ceilings celebrating the history of Edgefield and the Columbia Gorge.
The sculpted grounds and gardens tie the 25 acres together, making Edgefield
a warm, relaxing and enchanting place to visit.

For more information on the history of the poor farm, Edgefield offers a
fantastic book called "Vintage Edgefield - A History of the Multnomah County
Poor Farm and McMenamins Edgefield." Written by local historian, Sharon
Nesbitt, the book combines factual history with humor and is incredibly
entertaining and is available for purchase at our Online Shop.
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