The Poor Farm

Months ago, during the pre vaccination days of the coronavirus, 

Scotch P and me started the search for the ideal summer vacation spot.

Innoculations were on the horizon, but we didn't know what the worldwould look like.

As much as we were craving an international destination and the best of urban settings, we played it safe.

No air travel for the kids, and in driving distance from LA, if need be. 

Remote location with ample outdoor activities and a property we wouldn't necessarily want to leave.

When I stumbled upon The Poor Farm, in Salida, Colorado, I got giddy.

It was too good to be true.  

Renovated like a boutique hotel and listed on the national register of historic places, The Poor Farm

was definitely one of a kind.  

Tucked away on The Arkansas River, and just two miles from a quaint town in The Rockies it offered

everything we wanted.  Scott knew the area from previous fly fishing excursions so 

we booked the property and I started to dream about idle days with the sound of the water and swallows for company.

The Poor Farm was built in 1892 on 100 acres along the Arkansas river.

A last resort for the destitute and infirmed it provided a place to live and an opportunity to work the fields and care for the livestock.

Housing up to 20 residents, caretakers also lived on the premises,

cleaning and cooking for the inmates.

The Farm operated until the 1940s when the building, for a brief time,

became a Grange Hall and a meeting place for the Farmers Union.

Then it was abandoned and fell into utter disrepair.

A few years ago Shae Whitney and Brady Becker bought they house

and focused their passion for architecture and design on the property.

The eclectic decor is a blend of the farm's rich history, contemporary furnishings and whimsy.

Although modernity is encroaching on the town, the views from the large Revivalist windows 

are unencumbered.  

Vast mountain ranges are prominent in every direction and I never tired

from watching the sun creep across the sky.

It has been an idyllic place to lose track of time, enjoy the bounty of summer, and slow down.