Paoli Republican Aug 2, 1916:
July 11, 1916 To the Board of State Charities, Indianapolis, Ind.
Gentlemen:
The County
Board of Charities
visited the Orange County Poor Asylum and Jail on the date above written. The
asylum farm consists of 207 acres, all tillable except about thirty acres of
timber land; eight acres of which is in fruit orchard, five acres in garden,
and the remainder in wheat, corn, oats, timothy, clover and pasture land: all
of which looks fine and in good condition. The fencing, barn, outbuildings and
dwelling house are all in good shape, except patches of plastering in some of
the rooms have fallen from the ceiling, caused by leaky roof, which will be
looked after. The live stock consists of eighteen head of cattle, seven horses,
two mules and forty-four head of hogs, all of which are in good condition. The
Superintendent, Mr. Webster, is a practical farmer. He is a hard worker, and
takes much interest in the farm, which for the last year has been self
supporting. The dwelling house is a large, modern, two story brick building,
with basement, all in good sanitary condition. It is heated by steam and
lighted by lamps. The house is furnished with modern bath tubs, wash basins,
toilets, cooking range, utensils, etc. - all neat and clean. The bed rooms are
supplied with iron bedsteads, with full straw ticks and the necessary amount of
bed coverings, in good condition. At present, there are seventeen inmates,
eleven of which are men, five women, and one child about six years of age. One man
confined to his room with tuberculosis.
The County
Jail and dwelling house
are in bad condition. While they are kept as well as could be under existing
conditions, yet no housekeeper could keep out the existing bad odor in both
jail and dwelling. In the dwelling house, this odor certainly comes from
dampness from the ground coming up through the floors. We feel quite sure that
this could be overcome by putting in the necessary number of ventilators in the
foundation under the floors, which is a sufficient height above to the ground
to receive good sized ventilators. As to the Jail proper, will say that much
trouble could be overcome by enlarging the windows which could easily be done
by cutting down through two stones under each window. This would add about
thirty inches height to each window. Also, the floor in the jail should be
raised with concrete at least to a level with the cage in the jail. A smooth
concrete floor in the jail building would be more sanitary, easily kept clean,
and would eliminate the old rough floor which is full of seams and cracks, in
which is bred all kinds of insects which naturally harbor in such places. The
concrete floor should be laid smoothly, with sufficient fall to carry off the
water to a certain point where a trap should be placed to prevent any odor to
come back through the drain pipe. Also, the plumbing is in bad shape and should
be looked after. Much of the dampness in Jail comes from leaky pipes. The jail
is simply unsanitary, and is not fit for a human being to live in, and we hope
this property will be remodeled.
Very truly yours, Board of County
Charities, John T Stout, President, Belle T Braxtan, Secretary.
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