Missoula County Poor Farm Cemetery in Missoula, Montana

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Get directions Mountain View Drive
Missoula, Montana 59802 United States

Coordinates: 46.89233, -113.96820
Cemetery ID:

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About these numbers These percentages indicate the number of Find a Grave memorials that have a grave photo or GPS coordinates. We don't know the total number of burials in a cemetery, so we cannot calculate a percentage of those with memorials, photos or GPS coordinates.

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Poor Farm / County Hospital – In the early 1880s, Missoula was developing as the ‘Garden City' and a
major industrial hub. Along with the industry came transients and local poor who could not always care
for themselves. As these indigents grew in number, citizens petitioned the County Commissioners to find
a place to house them so as not to deflect from Missoula's ‘quality of life'. Henry C. Hollenbeck sold the
County 40 acres in the lower Rattlesnake to develop housing and care facilities for this group. A Pauper's
Application for County aid was necessary for admittance onto the farm. Length of stay depended on
individual circumstances. Most residents had physical, emotional, or addiction disorders. Residents were
given three meals a day, shelter, and medical attention. Able workers assisted the resident superintendent
with chores on the farm. Those who died on the property were buried there. Funeral records in 1987 stated
approximately 1,000 individuals were buried under the current school baseball field. Burials ceased in the
mid-1920s. The Poor Farm burned down in 1936 and was not re-built.
http://www.ci.missoula.mt.us/DocumentCenter/Home/View/29762