McNAIRY COUNTY, TN - MISCELLANEOUS - McNairy County Poor House
====================================================================
     USGENWEB NOTICE: In keeping with our policy of providing
         free information on the Internet, data may be used by
         non-commercial entities, as long as this message
         remains on all copied material. These electronic
         pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit
         or for presentation by other persons or organizations.

         Persons or organizations desiring to use this material
         for purposes other than stated above must obtain the
         written consent of the file contributor.

	 The submitter has given permission to the USGenWeb Archives
	 to store the file permanently for free access.

         This file was contributed for use in the USGenWeb
         Archives by: Edward R. Harrell	    EdHarrell3@aol.com
====================================================================
		The McNairy County Poor House
					writtem by Edward R. Harrell

The Poor House was estalished some years after the creation of the county, 
which was in 1823.  The first entry in the County Court minutes concerning the 
Poor House is found in Minute Book 1858-1866, dated January 4, 1858. That 
entry was about a female being taken to the Poor House.

In those days, Paupers, people who were unable to care for themselves, lived 
in the Poor House.  Most of the residents were adults. Some adolescents were 
living there also. In this case the child's parents MAY have been divorced, or 
perhaps the father couldn't support the family.  Another reason could have 
been, one of the parents died and the surviving spouse was unable to support 
the family. There are many reasons for someone to have been there.

Situations such as these caused a hardship for whomever was left with the 
responsibility of caring for a person in need. These types of situations could 
have been the reason for a Poor House. Another reason for the establishment 
for a Poor House is, the State might have dircted that ALL of the counties 
provide home for the needy.

Not all Paupers lived in the Poor House. Some lived in private homes, either 
with a relative or a friend. In this case the commissioners helped subsidize 
their upkeep with a monthly fee to the person with whom the Pauper lived. This 
might have been better for the county because there would be no requirements 
for a living quarters, clothing and food for them to provide for that
particular person. 

A board of directors was established to oversee the operation of the Poor 
House. Some of their responsibilities were, hiring someone to manage the 
facility, maintain the upkeep of the building the Paupers resided in and the 
other buildings that were needed for its operation. They purchased food, 
clothing and bedding for the residents. Other responsibilities were, paying 
the fee of a doctor whenever he was called to care for someone who was ill, 
and paying someone to mend the clothing as the need arose.

The directors were required to make quarterly reports to the County 
Commissioners as to the cost of each resident's stay per month, which was 
about $7.00. The name of each person, along with the expense of his or her 
stay was reported in the quarterly minutes. The repair of the building was
also reported. The cost of clothing either new or mended, food, and the cost 
of coffins was reported. A coffin in those days cost $3.00. Beginning in 1883, 
the names of those who died while in the Poor House was reported.

Where were these Paupers buried? Although there was a Paupers cemetery in the 
county, the location is not known today. Its location is not mentioned in the 
county court minutes. Therefore that part of the history of the county is 
lost. If it were known there most likely would have been very few graves with 
a marker. We could assume that those who died in the Poor House were buried in 
the Paupers cemetery. 

The Poor House remained in operation unitl 1958, when a "Home For The Aged" 
was built. When this new facility, located on South 6th Street in Selmer, was 
ready for operation, the commissioners named it Maplehill Nursing Home. In 
1985, Maplehill Nursing Home was closed when a larger more modern facility 
called McNairy County Health Care Center, located on the by-pass of Selmer, 
was opened.