hello lester, if the los angeles county farm is located in downey, it is not the ranchos los amigos, as that is in norwalk. i know this as 2 of my mother's uncles were living in bungalows in the 1950's (they had TB) at ranchos los amigos. good luck trying to find the los angeles county farm. sam-quito ************************************************************************* A message from Sam-Quito Padilla G. at: samquito@nmia.com We need donations & volunteers for the NM Death Index Project. For more information, click on: http://www.nmia.com/~samquito/nmdi.html I'm the County Coordinator for NMGenWeb's Socorro & Valencia Counties. Visit the Socorro County website at: http://www.everton.com/personal-pages/Socorro/ Visit the Valencia County website at: http://www.everton.com/personal-pages/Valencia/ I save used/cancel postage stamps for charity, including duplicates. Send any amount to myself at: 1520 Univ. Bl.,NE#314, Albuquerque, NM 87102-1720 -----Original Message----- From: Lester M Powers <lesterps@juno.com> To: SOCAL-L@rootsweb.com <SOCAL-L@rootsweb.com> Date: Wednesday, November 01, 2000 10:38 PM Subject: Los Angeles County Farm >I got interested in whatever the "Los Angeles County >Farm" was too, especially after someone posted its location >as Downey, thus giving hope that it could be located. > >Here is some info I discovered today. > > Lester Powers > lesterps@juno.com > > >Los Angeles County Farm (Rancho Los Amigos, today the Rancho Los Amigos >hospital) at Downey: > > "Los Angeles County Farm [in the year 1923] -- This great >institution is situated sixteen miles southeast of Los Angeles, and three >miles south of Downey. It contains four hundred acres of fine farm land, >210 acres of which are now being cultivated. The twenty-six buildings on >the place cost the county $400,000. The daily average attendance, >including 225 harmless insane persons, is a total of 766. Ninety >civilian employees and 250 working residents do the labor for the place. >One hundred and ten of the inmates receive a fixed, but low wage, for >their work. The buildings are two-story concrete structures. Chapel >services are held each Sabbath. A talking machine [radio] placed on >wheels is moved from one ward to another daily for the amusement of the >inmates. Concerts and speeches are greatly enjoyed by the inmates of the >institution. The Women’s building has large porches on the east, west >and north sides. A hospital ward is provided. No room has more than two >beds. Each room has hot and cold running water with steam heat, rugs on >the floors and good furniture. All food is cooked in the main kitchen >and transferred to the Women’s wards in little steam wagons. Most of the >men eat in the large dining room, next to the main kitchen. The farm has >its own sewer plant, makes its own electricity, has a herd of 150 >Holstein-Freisian milch [sic] cows. Ordinarily there are milked each day >115 cows producing 500 gallons of milk -- over 38 pounds per cow. The >net cost per day for each inmate, last year, was sixty-two and four >tenths cents." > As of 1923 the Farm was operated by the Los Angeles County >Department of Charities. > Source: "History of Los Angeles County," John Steven McGroarty, ed., >The American Historical Society, Chicago and New York, 1923, vol. 1, p. >20. > > A whole chapter is devoted to the Farm in the book "History of >Downey: The Life Story of a Pioneer Community, And of the Man who >Founded it -- California Governor John Gately Downey -- From Covered >Wagon to the Space Shuttle," by Charles Russell Quinn, published by Elena >Quinn, Downey, California, 1973, copyright by the City of Downey. The >book describes the County Farm as originally an almshouse and poor farm, >also including shelter for the aged, physically disabled, and insane, >that over time became a county hospital. There were three phases in its >development. The first phase, from its founding in 1887 to 1915, was a >decline from a work camp for the poor to something less than that. The >second phase, beginning with William R. Harriman’s 1915 appointment as >superintendent, was a time of rehabilitation both for the Farm (as a >farm) and for its residents. Improvements to the real estate came first, >both the land and buildings, then to medical facilities (clinic built >1923; hospital built 1933). The third phase was conversion to a >long-term medical care facility for polio beginning in 1944. > > >________________________________________________________________ >YOU'RE PAYING TOO MUCH FOR THE INTERNET! >Juno now offers FREE Internet Access! >Try it today - there's no risk! For your FREE software, visit: >http://dl.www.juno.com/get/tagj. > >