This Historic Farm In Nebraska Has a Fascinating Past
There’s a very special farm in Dodge County just north of Fremont, Nebraska. At one time it housed the destitute, the injured, the sick, and the desperate – people who had nowhere else to go. The Dodge County Poor Farm operated for decades as a refuge for humans, and it now houses animals with nowhere else to go.
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However, it wouldn't have actual doors for another 12 years. In the beginning, the 160-acre property was solely a farm that was rented out to raise money for the poor.
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Supervisors were paid to oversee the operations of the farm. Men (and, less commonly, women) who were homeless, poor, or unfit to work elsewhere were given jobs to do on the farm.
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The last resident of the Dodge County poor farm died in 1944; in 1955 the land was auctioned off and used as farmland for quite some time.
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This little parcel of land would go on to become The Old Poor Farm Animal Sanctuary in 2001.
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But the focus now is on helping animals who have nowhere else to go.
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They care for neglected, abused, handicapped and disfigured animals of all types that would not be able to survive in the wild, or that would have been killed by their owners.
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(Yes, the animal on the right is a fox spending time with a friendly cat!)
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The Dodge County Poor Farm has come full-circle, once again providing comfort and care for those who need it most. Two-hour historical tours of the farm are available with advance reservations; see the Poor Farm’s website for more information.
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