Madison County Poor Farm

In 1844, Madison County began a program of caring for the poor. Ten years later the county purchased this property and the first permanent buildings were constructed during the Civil War. The purpose of the facility was to provide care for the able-bodied poor, the blind, the sick and the mentally ill, who helped work the farm. In addition, a cemetery on the property provided a final resting place for the indigent of Madison County. The Madison County facility was one of 102 poor farms built in 19th century Illinois.

Among the brick buildings added to the complex over the course of a half century were the superintendent’s house, a building for the insane, a hospital, a home for the blind, and a large residence hall with separate wards for men and women. The name was changed to the Madison County Home in 1912 when the supervisor reported that many of those in need refused to enter because of the stigma attached to the name. In 1971, the complex became the Madison County Shelter Care Home. The last buildings on this site were torn down in 2009 to make way for a public service building for the city of Edwardsville. The Poor Farm’s cemetery remains on the west side of the property.