Historic Ray County Poor Farm building in Richmond, Missouri was converted to a museum

Photo byFacebook/Ray County Historical Society and Museum.

On July 10, 1979, this building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Originally called the Ray County Poor Farm, it's known as the Ray County Museum today. It's located at 901 West Royle Street in Richmond, Missouri (Ray County).

The architect was William Carver from Chillicothe. The foundation is concrete and the walls are brick. The builder was Woodson Alnutt who was prominent in the community of Richmond. This building served as a poor farm until the 1960s. It was a nursing home until the early 1970s and after, it became a local museum.

This two-story Y-shaped building was constructed in 1909-1910 after a vote for a new necessary facility. Early on, poor farms housed the mentally insane, impoverished, and elderly not unlike the practice of other counties in the state going into the 1900s. It's been said that in the name of progress, a place such as a poor farm was created to help those needing assistance.

In other parts of the country back east, this type of facility was known as an almshouse. This building was never an insane asylum according to a researcher of this building's history.

The poor farm first came about as a solution for those who needed relief and a place to stay. Other counties in the state started to purchase or lease farms where the impoverished could live in a supervised environment. For the elderly, the poor farm became the predecessor of a nursing home.

The museum and grounds during the 1970s.Photo byFacebook/Ray County Historical Society and Museum.

People were placed at the Ray County Poor Farm simply because they could not take care of themselves and became wards of the county. The people who lived at the Poor Farm can be broken up into two major groups -- medical and hard times. (Source.)

In about 1900, it was advised by the State Board of Charities and Corrections that these county farms be placed closer to county seats for maintenance, better supervision, and access to more modern facilities which included water.

A 1903 study of Missouri poorhouses showed there were only five modern ones in the state and that 21 counties that didn't have any were sending their indigent out to farmers. Many of the elderly spent their last days at a poor farm.

For the mentally ill, they were boarded at the county's expense in a state hospital. While Ray County had its poor farm, it boarded mental patients at the Hospital for the Insane No. 2 in St. Joseph, Missouri by 1903. Some were said to be incurable.

In February 1909, over 100 Ray County voters provided their county court with a petition requesting a special election to seek bonds to purchase land for the purpose of constructing a new county poor farm. The old building that had been referred to as a stockade carried deplorable conditions which would be deemed uninhabitable today.

Attempts were made to improve the conditions of the old facility that were only a temporary fix. On March 6, 1909, an election was held. While there was a dispute over the election results, that was settled and a site was chosen for a new facility. A tract of land consisting of 23 acres was purchased at the southwestern limits of Richmond. Once architect Carver was selected, he was also retained to supervise the construction.

Woodson Alnutt from Richmond won the bid to construct the new building. By May 1910, the facility was completed. The residents were moved into their new living space. A new superintendent of the building was hired. Duties included supervising the cooking, the care of the property, the garden, and milking cows.

The new building was similar to others in the state. Male and female residents were in separate wings. A location in the country was preferred so the food supply could be grown on-site.

Contractor Alnutt was born in Clinton County in 1862. He started his business in Excelsior Springs and helped in building the Elms Hotel. He moved to Richmond around 1890. Some of Alnutt's work in Richmond includes the Exchange Bank Building, the Newton Hughes residence, and the Christian Church.

The Ray County Museum is open from April through November. Hours are Wednesday through Saturday from noon until 4:00 p.m.

Thanks for reading.