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Allegan County Poor Farm The Destructive Fire |
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ALLEGAN AFFAIRS Thursday morning (Feb. 1, 1883) at about six o'clock the main building in the county poor farm was wholly destroyed by fire, and it was only by hard work that the neighboring insane asylum was saved. Fire caught in the men's hall on the first floor, how it is not definitely known, but doubtless from some of the furnace pipes or flues. One of the inmates had risen as usual and rebuild the fire in the furnace and also made one in the cooking stove, and upon going back to his room found flames in the hall. It is said that the furnace and its pipes and flues were not in the best condition, and one of the supervisors who saw them last fall says it is a wonder that the building was not burned long ago All the inmates, more than forty in number, were got out with safety and most of the furniture was saved. The loss is estimated at $5000, upon which there was insurance to the amount of $3000 in the Hartford company, of which S.D. Pond is agent. Measures must be taken at once for rebuilding, and for that purpose a special meeting of the board of supervisors have been notified and will probably meet early next week to take the necessary steps in the case. Meanwhile the inmates of the burned house can be sheltered temporarily in other buildings, the children's home being vacated for that purpose It is expected that the four children who were in it can be placed in the state school at Coldwater. But while these arrangements can be made, a great deal of inconvenience and some suffering must result. The old building, while comfortable and decent, was not built for the purpose for which it was used, but was the farm-house, somewhat enlarged, built by the late Horace Pope, of whom it and the farm were purchased. It was of wood and its construction still provided or escape in case of fire, there being narrow halls and but one stairway leading to the upper stories. It burned very rapidly and it is singular good fortune that no lives were lost and so much property saved. The new building which must be constructed at once should be of brick, larger than the old one, and carefully and well built after approved plans with special reference to its uses. Too much care can not be given to these preliminaries, that for the money expended the greatest possible amount of good may be obtained. A building should be put up which will not need early and expensive alterations or cause inconvenience or danger to inmates, and be substantial enough to last a century. Possibly, in view of this unexpected expense, the board will rescind its action submitting to popular vote the proposition to build a new court-house. It would be wise for them to do so as the proposal no doubt would be rejected because of the high rate of taxation that would be necessary to carry through both buildings. For another reason, however, there probably would be, as there should be, a majority against the court-house scheme. The sum proposed as the maximum of its cost, $20,000, is not more than half what would be needed to build such a court-house as the county should have. Some of the supervisors admitted this, and calculated that the $20,000 would only be a beginning. But such a method of procedure would be bad policy. A reasonable sum should be determined upon for such a work and then the completed building made to come, in cost, within the appropriation. Jobbery and waste are likely to follow from the adoption of any other plan. According to the February 8th issue of The Leenanau Enterprise, the Allegan County Poorhouse burned down Thursday February 1, 1883. Inmates and most furniture were saved. |
 Feb. 3, 1883 |
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