| History of Mercer and Henderson counties, 1882, page 482
"Again, most of the adjoining counties had provided poor-houses and refused longer to support indigent persons unless they would become inmates thereof; and while there were
many who were not too proud to receive their entire subsistence from the
county, there were few who would willingly "go to the
poor-house." as they had a false idea that this course was
degrading. Rather than go where they could not only be better cared for,
but would have an opportunity to do what they could for their own
maintenance, they prepared to emigrate to some county not possessed of
this bugbear, and not a few crossed the borders into our county and soon
became a county charge.
"Under these circumstances, the commissioners in 1853 (E. Gilmore,
Jr., county judge and William Wilmerton and John Glancey, associate
county justices of the peace) after much deliberation, decided to
purchase a farm for the county, upon which might be erected suitable
buildings for an infirmary. Mr. Wilmerton soon found what he thought
would be a suitable farm, and a special meeting of the commissioners was
held at the court-house in Keithsburg, September 20, 1853, which is the
first record we can find relating to the subject of a poor-house. At
this meeting they ratified a provisional contract made by Mr. Wilmerton
with John I. Clark and Gersham Vannatta, whereby the later sold to the
county 100 acres of land lying in the S 1/2 of Sec. 33, T. 15 and in the
N. 1/2 of Sec. 4. T.14, both in Range 3, W of the 4th P.M, the latter
being timber land. The consideration was $1,400, and two orders were
drawn at this meeting, for $700 each, in favor of Clark and Vannatta.
The deed was made September 23, 1853 and acknowledged before W.A.
Bridgeford, J.P. of MIllersburg and was recorded January 12, 1854, by T.B.
Cabeen, Recorder in Book M of Deeds, pages 307 and 308...to page
488. It is situated three and one-half miles due north of Aledo.
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