What I Found This Weekend: Poor Farm Cemetery

I went on a walk/run this weekend and I always pass by a small cemetery on Dobie Road in Okemos so I went to it to see what it was all about.

According to the historical marker by Ingham County, this cemetery was used for workers or people who owned "Poor Farms". The "Poor Farms" as the marker says "These People Lived in the Poor Farms because they were unable to care for themselves. Most of the tombstones are in fairly good condition considering that the tombstones are for people that have passed between 1890-1910.

What was really fascinating about this place was that most of the people that died and were remembered there all lived fairly long lives. Most of the people lived into their 60s and there were a few remembering people that lived into their 70s. This was really amazing for me because in the 1800s and early 1900s life expectancy was not what it is now and these people lived and worked on the "Poor Farm", so I can just imagine if they had better medical care they would've lived for even long.

The cemetery is about a hundred or so square feet so it is missed by most if you are drive on Dobie Road. To find the cemetery you have go about a mile or so up Dobie Road from Jolly Road or about a mile and half down Dobie from Grand River. There are benches to sit and view the cemetery/park, plus you can park close and walk to it.

You can check out some pics below. Along with a pic of a tombstone showing how old this place really is.

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