The Marion county poor farm lies on the bank of the Willamette river, three miles above Salem.  It consists of thirty-three acres, two of which are in orchard, ten in cultivation and the remainder in timber.  The house, the front of which is shown in the engraving, consists of two wings.  The left wing is occupied by the family of the superintendent, in the rear being the kitchen for the whole establishment.  The connecting room, in front of which is the porch, is the dining room.  The right wing is two stories high, and is the portion occupied by the inmates.  A hall runs through the center from front to rear.  Down stairs there are a sitting room in the front corner, six bedrooms and a bath room.  Up stairs there are nine bed rooms.  The capacity is fifteen.  At the fime of the first visit there were seven men and two women, each occuplying a separate room.  In the rear of the house is a windmill, by which water is pumped from a well into a tank, and thus supplied by gravity pressure for the entire house.  Lamps are used for lighting and stoves for heating.  There is a deficiency of heat for the upstairs rooms.  Hot and cold water flow into the bath tub, and the waste water runs into a drain under the house.  The water closet is a vault in the yard.  Inmates bathe once or twice a week.  They presented a cleanly appearance.  Bedding is washed occasionally.  Some of the blankets were not very clean.  Wire mattresses are used on the beds, with straw and wool ticks.  Sheets and pillow cases may be had by all who desire them, but some prefer blankets only.  Underclothing is washed weekly at a laundry at the county expense.  The house is much in need of repairs.  It was, apparently, fairly well kept.  The general portion and the halls were clean, but some of the rooms were not.  In this respect is was inferior to some other poor farms in the state.  The inmates all spoke well of their treatment and food.  Three meals were served daily.  No work was required of the inmates, but they take care of their own rooms and help a little about the dining room and yard when they felt like doing so.  Papers and books are sent in by charitable people, and one minister holds religious services monthly.  Other ministers do the same occasionally.  The county physician comes out occasionally and when there is any person ill he makes regular daily visits.  All burial expenses are paid by the county, and interments are made in a special lot in the I.O.O.F. cemetery.  Provision is made for fire protection by a rubber hose fifty feet long and one inch in diameter, which will throw a stream to the top of the building.  If some needed repairs were made, wash stands placed in the rooms and stoves put upstairs, with a little more care of the bedrooms, the poor farm would be a fairly good one, but an entirely new building would be desirable.  The contractor in charge at the time of this inspection was receiving $2.75 per week for each inmate.  A new contract for another person has since been let for $2.49.  There is but little more than one-half the amount paid the sheriff for boarding county prisoners, and is about one-third the amount paid the city marshal of Salem for feeding drunks and tramps in the city lock-up.  It is less than good service is worth, and, consequently, good service can hardly be expected.  There is an unfortunate tendency in this county, as in many others, to visit honest poverty, with more severe punishment than crime, and to feed and care for its prisoners better than its poor. "[First Biennial Report of the State Board of Charities and Corrections, For the Partial Biennial Period Ending December 31, 1892, p.121-123]