The St. Louis County poorfarm eventually became the county's nursing home. The barn from the poorfarm still stands on the edge of the parking lot. (MPR Photo/Chris Julin)

The St. Louis County poorfarm opened in the 1880s on the hill above the city of Duluth. During the Depression, this was the one of the busiest poor farms in the state. At times, more than 600 people lived at the St. Louis County poorfarm.

The residents tended livestock and worked in the fields. Most were immigrants who had worked as loggers or miners. A 1936 newspaper article reported nearly 500 people at the farm, and only about half of them were U.S. citizens.

The poorfarm in Duluth eventually became St. Louis County's nursing home - the Chris Jensen Center. The barn from the poorfarm still stands on the edge of the nursing home's parking lot.