Poor Farm

Long ago, “Poor Farms” were established in the United States to take care of those who could not take care of themselves and had no one else to care for them. “The Poor Farm” is a documentary film that tells the story of the Eastmanville Poor Farm in Ottawa County, Michigan. Founded in 1866, it was the longest continually operating Poor Farm in the United States, serving its community for over 130 years. Like many such Poor Farms across the country, the Eastmanville Poor Farm provided a home for the sick, the elderly, the disabled, and anyone else unable to live independently in our society.