The Multnomah County Poor Farm is a former poor farm located in Troutdale, Oregon, United States. Established in 1911, the building and its surrounding grounds operated as a poor farm housing the ill and indigent populations in the Portland metropolitan area at the beginning of the twentieth century, after the closure of a poor farm in the city's West Hills.
- Venue
- Multnomah County Poor Farm
- Town
- Troutdale, US
The Multnomah County Poor Farm is a former poor farm located in Troutdale, Oregon, United States. Established in 1911, the building and its surrounding grounds operated as a poor farm housing the ill and indigent populations in the Portland metropolitan area at the beginning of the twentieth century, after the closure of a poor farm in the city's West Hills. Over the course of the century, the farm would come to be used as a nursing home before becoming abandoned in the 1980s. Since 1990, the site is operated as an entertainment and lodging complex under the name McMenamins Edgefield, one of several historic properties owned, restored, and operated by the McMenamins enterprise. The property is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. In 1854 the territorial legislature gave the counties the responsibility of caring for the poor. 1868 saw the first pauper's farm open in the west hills of Portland. This facility, called Hillside Farm, occupied 160 acres (65 ha) near Canyon Road in Portland's West Hills; the site is now part of Washington Park. Hillside Farm was closed down due to the "deplorable" condition of the building, and the Multnomah County Poor Farm was built to replace it on a budget of USD$100,000 (equivalent to $3,455,357 in 2025). The main building was constructed by a plastering crew as well as Swedish immigrants who worked as carpenters or bricklayers. In November 1911, 211 residents moved to the new farm in Troutdale. This new facility was the largest county-funded relief institution in Oregon. By 1914, the farm housed a total of 302 residents who helped manage various farm animals and crops. In 1934 an infirmary wing was built to care for the aging population of the farm. In 1935, its population peaked at 614. The farm would eventually encompass 345 acres (140 ha). During 1939, a doctor's duplex was built by the Works Progress Administration (WPA). The WPA also added an incinerator, sprinkler system, and sun porch in 1940. In 1947, the name