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Poor Farm Pathways, Part One
Content: “idiotic,” asylums; confinement; “insanity law”
- Main Voice(s): Emerson Cram
- Special Guests:
- Julie Watkins, Events Manager, Johnson County Historic Poor Farm
- Michael Hoenig, Project Coordinator, University of Iowa Center for Disabilities and Development
- Dr. Jennifer Mack, Lead Bioarcheologist, Asylum Hill Project, University of Mississippi Medical Center
Highlights
This chapter picks at some key questions–why did people come here? Were the people who lived here “bad”? Join Emerson to dive in the unexpected ways poor farm histories reveal connections between agriculture, rural social welfare, psychiatry’s early U.S. history in asylums, and the regionalization of poverty relief law. Hear the stories about individual residents identified so far.
Conclusion
Tracking how institutional pathways were made can connect the partial stories of the poor farm’s evolution, and help account for why “dependency” remains such a powerful stigmatizing term that connects powerful stories about waste, work, and deviance.
Transcript
For a full transcript of this episode, visit: disabilityecologiespodcast.buzzsprout.com
Credits
Episode written and narrated by Emerson Cram, University of Iowa. Recorded with Riverside FM. Production and sound editing by Emerson Cram.
All media clips are used for educational purposes only.
“How Many Stars in the Sky,” from the Harry Oster Folk Music Collection, Rita Benton Music Library, The University of Iowa Libraries. Thanks to Katie Buehner and Christine Burke.
Typing 5 lines.wav by soundslikewillem -- https://freesound.org/s/193971/ -- License: Attribution NonCommercial 4.0
Funding
Research, writing, and production have benefitted from generous support from multiple sources, including: the National Communication Association’s Karl R. Wallace Memorial Award; UI OVPR Arts and Humanities Initiative Standard Grant; UI Provost Investment in Strategic Priorities; UI College of Liberal Arts DSHB Humanities Scholar; CLAS Summer Humanities Award.
Special Thanks
With thanks to Maura De Cicco; University of Iowa Departments of Communication Studies, Gender, Women’s & Sexuality Studies, and American Studies (Especially Angie Looney, Kembrew McLeod, Eric Vázquez, Naomi Greyser, and Hallie Abelman); State Historical Society of Iowa (especially Hang Nguyen, Allison Johnson, and Anu Tiwari); Sarah Keen, University Archivist, University of Iowa; Kim Painter, Johnson County Recorder; Rebecca Dewing, Johnson County Historical Society; the 2024 Colby Summer Institute in Environmental Humanities Seminar Participants, Claire Fox; Teresa Mangum; Jennifer New; Phaedra C. Pezzullo; Constance Gordon; and Jesse Waggoner.
Audience Participation
- Call to Action: Do you have a poor farm or county home story to tell? Reach out to our team to learn more about how to share!
- Support the Show: Share this episode with friends and colleagues & stay tuned for future episodes.
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