The terms “poorhouse” or “poor farm” conjure up feelings of melancholy and darkness in most who hear about them. Stories of Dickensian nature pervade their histories and, at the latest, most poor farms and poorhouses were closed during the 1970s, with most closing in the '50s and '60s. The Ottawa County Poor Farm, later known as Community Haven, is unique in this regard. This institution closed its doors in 2000.

Why did the Ottawa County poor farm remain in operation for so long? The answer may be found in an early stumble. As one account goes, the Poor Farm began helping the sick and downtrodden in 1866, after the county purchased the farm for $6,000 from the Realy family. By 1876, though, conditions at the farm had taken a turn for the worse. The Lakeside Register reported on May 3 that the Superintendent of the Poor Farm was treating the residents cruelly. (There were allegedly whippings and residents were left without proper amounts of food and water.) He was also accused of neglecting the sanitation of the building. The Board of Directors, though, acted swiftly to remove the Superintendent; however, it seems the damage had been done. By 1886, the county was planning a new building on the other side of the road from the river. Construction on this building was completed by 1887 under a new Superintendent, George Bennet. Notably, there are no other reports of large-scale neglect found in the records or reported in the news.