The story of Detroit / by George B. Catlin.

CHAPTER LXXI
PURCHASE OF THE POOR FARM
IN 1839 it became apparent to citizens of Wayne County
that their provisions for the care of the poor were inadequate. The poor house and grounds purchased from the
Leib farm at Gratiot and Mt. Elliott avenues consisted of a
ramshackle building on a plat of 25 acres. More land was
needed and a larger building. Land close to the city was becoming expensive so the county purchased 160 acres in Nankin
township on the Chicago Road-the property now a part of
the tract at Eloise-i6 miles from Detroit. This was known
as the Samuel Torbert farm. The owner had established on it
a sort of road house known as the "Black Horse Tavern."
Torbert had been ruined by wild cat money and he sold his farm
for $800. An adjoining farm of I20 acres was also purchased
for $800.
The Black Horse Tavern consisted of two separate log
buildings which had been joined by extending the roof of each.
For years it had been one of the stopping places for travelers on
their two-day journey from Detroit to Ypsilanti and Ann
Arbor. It had been the scene of many a carousal. With whisky
selling at three cents a glass intemperance was a rule rather
than an exception. The poor charges were removed from the
old farm to the new in April, 1839, and for six years nothing
notable was done for their comfort. In 1845 a new building was
erected at a cost of $4,5I 5. This was a three-story brick building
measuring 78 by 37 feet on the ground. It was heated by rude
box stoves, lighted by oil lamps and tallow candles and divided
into rooms by thin partitions. The danger of destruction by
fire or from collapse of its weak walls was always imminent, but
a special Providence seemed to protect its inmates, until the
old building was torn down in 1895. The old property on Gratiot
Avenue was sold for $1,124.
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