Ormsby County Poor Farm began serving the community in the 1860s. Before developing federal government programs, including social security and Medicaid, counties had often had poor farms. Locally operated farms helped those who were homeless or could otherwise not care for themselves. J.J. Abraham was the first superintendent of the Ormsby County Poor Farm.

Farms were often located in rural areas or on the outskirts of towns. In exchange for room & board and a small allowance, residents engaged in chores on the farm. Unlike many farms which closed in the 1930s, the Ormsby farm lasted for almost one hundred years. Upon its closure in 1965, the remaining residents were transferred to nursing homes.

What was once a place for the poor members of society is now a recreational location for Carson City. Fuji Park and the Carson City Fairgrounds encompass the former poor farm.

Little is left to remind visitors of the original purpose of the property. A small fenced graveyard sits forgotten next to the fairgrounds, behind the fishing pond. Resident’s graves were most often unmarked or had a simple wood marker. Two graves received marble headstones as the deceased were veterans of the Civil War. There is no mention of the disposition of the remaining graves. Like many graves in Nevada, they are likely unmarked and lost to history.

Ormsby County Poor Farm Graveyard

John Thoroughman

John Thoroughman was born on March 28, 1868, in Ohio. He emigrated to Nevada in the 1850s. John worked yed as a miner and ranch hand in China Town, now known as Dayton. On June 23, 1863, he enlisted and served in the First Nevada Volunteer Cavalry for three years, mustering out on June 25, 1866, and returning to work on Dayton farms. After falling on difficult times, he moved to the farm in February of 1906. He died on December 19, 1909, of liver failure at the age of 71.

James Johnson

James Johnson was born on August 4, 1836. He enlisted with Company A, 4th California Infantry, mustering out on March 31, 1865, at the Presidio of San Francisco, California. James moved to Nevada in 1870 and worked as a local ranch hand. He moved to the farm on February 20, 1909. He lived there on and off over the year until his death from liver failure on April 13, 1910, at age 74.

Another forgotten graveyard in the capitol is the Pioneer Cemetery, Carson Cities’ first cemetery. The cemetery dating from 1860 is noted for being the original burial place of Major Ormsby and two of his fellow veterans of the Pyramid Lake War.

Visited 9-26-2021

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References

• Around Carson: Fuji Park Cemetery
• Around Carson City: Ormsby County Poor Farm Now and Then
• Carson City, Nevada: Ormsby County Poor Farm
• Find a Grave: Ormsby Poor Farm Cemetery
• Free from Restraint: Out of the gate
• Nevada Appeal: Poor residents used to be kept at a farm
• Newton, Marilyn. Alkali Angels: Recording Nevada’s Historic Graveyards. Carmel Publishing Company, 2004. Pages 12-13.
• Paher, Stanley.  Nevada Ghost Towns and Mining Camps.  Nevada Publications, 1970.  Page 47.

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