The poorfarm in Lac Qui Parle County. (Photo courtesy of Irene Johnson)

Lac Qui Parle County first constructed a poorfarm in 1907, on a farm just outside of Madison, Minn. The sprawling farmhouse was home to the poor and aged until it closed in 1979.

The house, barn and outbuildings were torn down in 1995. All that remains is a piece of stair railing salvaged and preserved at the Lac Qui Parle County Historical Society in Madison.

People who died at the poorfarm were often buried in a small church cemetery just down the road. Most lie in unmarked graves.