Kaufman County Poor Farm

As did many Texas counties of the era, Kaufman County created a poor farm in 1883 in order to provide the indigent residents and families of the area with food, shelter, and medicine. This work program replaced earlier relief efforts. All able-bodied persons were required to work, including resident guards and county inmates convicted of minor crimes who were originally brought from the jail daily for labor; by 1893 they were housed on the farm. In the 1930s the farm was used to demonstrate new agricultural techniques. Usually filled to capacity, the farm operated until the 1970s. By 1997, a cemetery and a few buildings remained. (1997)

Kaufman County Poor Farm is a historical marker in Kaufman, Kaufman County, dedicated in 1997. It is one of 90 historical markers documented in Kaufman County in the Texas Historical Commission Atlas, among 178 historic sites cataloged across the county.

The site sits at 32.5662, -96.3180 near Kaufman. The nearest cataloged historic site is Kaufman County Indigent Cemetery (historical marker), about 0.3 miles away. Others within a short drive include Pioneer Cemetery, First Christian Church of Kaufman, and Church of Our Merciful Saviour.

This record corresponds to Texas Historical Commission Atlas #5257011988. Use the map below for its exact position and turn-by-turn directions.