Boulder County Poor Farm is the site of a

poor farm A poorhouse or workhouse is a government-run (usually by a county or municipality) facility to support and provide housing for the dependent or needy. Workhouses In England, Wales and Ireland (but not in Scotland), ‘workhouse’ has been the ...

in the Valmont area of

Boulder County, Colorado Boulder County is a county located in the U.S. state of Colorado of the United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 330,758. The most populous municipality in the county and the county seat is Boulder. Boulder County comprises th ...

, where long-term care for the county's indigent was provided from 1902 to 1918. The site operated as a farm from 1897, and many of the original farm buildings are still present, including a main house built in Queen Anne style. It was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

in 2011. Starting in 1875, Boulder County leased a series of properties to serve as the county poorhouse. In 1902, the farm on today's 63rd Street was purchased to house the Boulder County Poor Farm and Hospital; many modifications were made to the farm house, including the construction of a two-story dormitory annex. By 1918, a larger building was needed, and the institution was moved to another location. The farm was sold and returned to private operation. In 2018, a century after the county left the property, the city of

Boulder In geology, a boulder (or rarely bowlder) is a rock fragment with size greater than in diameter. Smaller pieces are called cobbles and pebbles. While a boulder may be small enough to move or roll manually, others are extremely massive. In c ...

purchased the combined Poor Farm / Fort Chambers (a/k/a Fort Valmont) property for Open Space Mountain Parks (OSMP) use.

References

Buildings and structures in Boulder County, Colorado Poor farms Residential buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Colorado National Register of Historic Places in Boulder County, Colorado {{Colorado-NRHP-stub