Electrical storm last straw for City Poor Farm’s keeper

This street sign, denoting the intersection of Spring Street and Recreation Drive, approximates a portion of the former location of the City Poor Farm. Nearby are the tennis courts in South Hannibal. They were built upon a segment of the land that once was the poor farm. Photo by Robert Spaun.

MARY LOU MONTGOMERY

An electrical storm passed through Hannibal on Aug. 15, 1904, and in its path, lightning shattered the chimney and damaged the roof of the keeper’s home, located on the City Poor Farm.

Just a couple of weeks later, on Sept. 3, 1904, Nathan Clark, keeper of the farm for a year and a half prior, turned in his resignation to City Clerk Charles Shepherd.

Citing wind and storm damage to the city-provided home, and the death of his 10-year-old son, Frank, the previous April 26, he told a reporter for the Courier-Post, “I have had so much bad luck there that I want to leave. The wind storms have given us trouble and lightning recently struck the house. In addition we lost our boy (Frank, born 1893), he having died several months ago. I feel that it is best to get away.”

Nathan Clark may well have been the last keeper for the City Poor Farm; in early October 1904, the remaining residents were moved to the Marion County facility at Palmyra, where they were cared for at Hannibal’s expense.

Plans were announced via the Hannibal Courier-Post on Oct. 3, 1904, that the property - which had served as the city poor farm since at least 1884 - was to be offered for rent. “Repairs have been made on the poorhouse (stet) and 18 acres of ground. It is offered in connection with the house.”

In 1906, J.C. Scott rented the property and began farming the land.

Poor farm

For some 20 years, beginning circa 1884, the city conducted a poor farm in South Hannibal, located on a parcel of land consisting of 18-20 acres.

The poor farm was located, in part, where the South Side tennis courts are positioned in 2026, off of Recreation Drive, to the west of Missouri 79. The land originally continued on to the east, and was ultimately divided by the construction of Missouri 79 during the late 1960s.

A second portion of the land dedicated to use as the poor farm is across the highway, directly to the south of Riverside Cemetery. (During research, City Poor Farm was sometimes listed as located “South of the cemetery,” presumably referring to Riverside Cemetery.)

In 1903, a description of the poor farm was published as: southeast of limits, west side of Riverside Cemetery.

The two portions of the poor farm property are labeled as such on the online GIS map, Integrity. Apparently, the land has remained city-owned since it was first dedicated for poor farm use.

Known keepers

The names of the following keepers were culled from Hannibal city directories, and newspaper editions via newspapers.com:

1888: Benjamin Tischer

1892: Robert B. Robinson (Possibly 1818-1894, rank of captain during the Civil War, wife Sarah Patterson Robinson [1819-1909]).

1894: John J. Browning

1897: Levi Scott

1900: William H. Boulware

1903: Jefferson Clark

1904: Nathan Clark

Occupants

In July 1904, an incident which began at the City Poor Farm caused some excitement on Clay Street (later renamed Fulton), near where it intersected with Riverside Street in South Hannibal.

Two women, residents of the City Poor Farm, escaped the keeper. The July 19, 1904 edition of the Hannibal Courier-Post reported that they remained at large for several hours. Their actions proved frightening to the neighbors. “A telephone message was sent to the police station calling the attention of the officers to the women. Officer (Thomas) Mulhern later took one of the women into custody and turned her over to the keeper of the poor farm. The other returned without any trouble.”

The day after the aforementioned electrical storm at the City Poor Farm residence, two boys escaped.

August 17, 1904: “The two boys whom Overseer of the Poor (Alvin B.) Huser is to take to the feeble-minded asylum at Marshall, escaped from the city poor farm this morning and were at large in the city for several hours today. They were finally apprehended. The boys, while not exactly insane, are feeble minded.”

Potter’s field

In October 1904, a Hannibal newspaper made reference to Potter’s Field, where about 200 people were buried. This newspaper article noted that the potter’s field was located upon the tract of land - previously described in this article - where the City Poor Farm was once located.

A month later, on Nov. 7, 1904, the Hannibal Courier-Post published the following:

“An aged colored man …  died this morning about 5 o’clock after a lingering illness. His remains were removed to the undertaking establishment of Coroner O’Donnell and this afternoon were buried in the potter’s field, at the expense of the city.”

Another burial was reported on Jan. 13, 1905: A man, “who was found dead in his room at a hotel on North Main Street last Saturday night, was buried yesterday in the Potter’s field on the South Side. The burial which was made by Coroner Thomas, was at the expense of the city. None of the relatives of the man have been heard from.”

Note: The precise location of Potter’s field has not been ascertained.

Rented the farm

James P. and Myrtle Flint moved north from Louisiana, Mo., midyear 1912, and settled on the poor farm property. They raised chickens and milch cows, and sold Barred Plymouth Rock eggs, $2 a setting of 15 eggs. 

On March 23, 1913, the Hannibal Morning Journal reported that J.P. Flint had purchased, “A tract containing 5 1/2 acres, known as the old Hayward lime kiln property. Lying just south of the Riverside Cemetery, being a part of lots one and two in Tingle’s addition to the city of Hannibal. Consideration, $500.”

Flint purchased the property from Charles T. and James Hayward. The company harvested limestone from the hills along the banks of the Mississippi River.

In April 1913, Flint advertised in the Hannibal Morning Journal that an aged, large black Poland China sow strayed from the farm. She was later spotted at Ilasco. Mr. Flint offered a reward for the sow’s return.

This panoramic photo shows the south side tennis courts in the center. At left is a small portion of Riverside Drive, leading south to a few hilltop houses. The tennis courts are located on property which historically was part of the City Poor Farm. Photo by Robert Spaun.

This is a segment from the Standard Atlas of Marion County, Missouri, 1913.

It shows the location of what was once the City Poor Farm. From an estimated date of 1884-1904, the city operated this farm as a home for the indigent. The land, 18-20 acres, was divided during the late 1960s to make way for Missouri 79. The remaining portions - one on each side of the highway - are still labeled ‘poor farm’ on the online GIS map, Integrity. Apparently, the land has remained city-owned since it was first dedicated for poor farm use. The land described is in the shape of an irregular quadrilateral.

This map represents a current image of the City Poor Farm property, to the east and west of Route 79. They are numbered 1 and 2. Next to #1 is the approximate location of the Southside Tennis Courts. Illustration by Mary Lou Montgomery.

Mary Lou Montgomery, Suburban Newspapers of America Editor of the Year, Dailies, 2010, retired as editor of the Hannibal, Mo., Courier-Post in 2014. She researches and writes narrative-style stories about the people who served as building blocks for this region’s foundation. Books available on amazon.com by this author include: “The Notorious Madam Shaw,” “Pioneers in Medicine from Northeast Missouri,” “Hannibal’s ‘West End,’” “Oakwood: West of Hannibal,” “St. Mary’s Avenue District,” and “Live, on stage in Hannibal 1879: ‘H.M.S. Pinafore.’” Montgomery can be reached at montgomery.editor@yahoo.com Her collective works can be found at www.maryloumontgomery.com