After remodeling the county poor farm to the tune of about $5.5 million, the Dallas County Board of Supervisors will host an open house Tuesday, Nov. 22 from 3-6 p.m. in the newly christened Human Services Campus (HSC), 25747 N Ave. north of Adel.
The open house will feature tours both of the administrative offices and the surrounding farm ground, which Dallas County leases to the Des Moines Area Community College agribusiness program for their crop and livestock operation.
A highlight of the open house will be Karen Smith’s brief presentation on the history of the county poor farm, later known as the Dallas County Care facility. Smith retired in 2006 after running the care facility for 32 years.
Her husband’s parents, Homer and Effie Smith, ran the farm from 1951 until Karen Smith took over its administration in 1974, so in a sense Smith is a repository of more than 60 years of the history and memories of the county farm, covering most of the post-World War II period and approaching the natural limit of any living human memory.
The Dallas County Care Facility closed in March 2014, and renovation began shortly after.
The newly remodeled Dallas County HSC now houses several county departments, including Public Health, Community Services, Case Management, Environmental Health, Emergency Management and the Dallas County Sheriff’s office communications center. The Dallas County offices of the Iowa Department of Human Services are also located at the HSC.
The open house if free and open to the public.
