The Case of the Prisoner Produce

Brother:  Granny told me there was a prison right down the street from her house. Sister: What?! No there wasn’t. Brother: Yes there was! The prisoners used to give her vegetables through the fence! Sister: You’re making this up! All that was near Granny’s house was other houses! I remember! Brother: You are dumber than a stick. Sound familiar? There’s nothing better than a randomly sparked family history memory. When they’re verified by other members of the same generation, it’s easy – a few quick checks and you can publish the story as fact. But when family members disagree, the real fun begins. Fact checking is upgraded to full-on research. Interviews are conducted with neutral cousins. Maps are consulted. So it was for the Case of the Prisoner Produce. Gary Mariencheck claimed that his grandmother, Agnes Grace Ferrer, lived near a prison and used to get produce through the fence from the inmates. His sister, Joyce Mariencheck Klinck, disagreed. ... And the winner is: Gary! Prior to 1929, the County Workhouse was located on Jackson Avenue. The property backed up to Holmes, where several of our ancestors built homes in about 1922. The workhouse itself was in the vicinity of the southwest corner of Jackson and Macon in one map. In another (shown), it faces the northwest corner of Homes and Guernsey Ave. The property included an old County Hospital and Insane Asylum. As the years went by and more and more county land was absorbed into the city limits, the facility moved and the existing land was parceled out into the regular neighborhood that exists in the 1950-born memory of Joyce. Also, according to Vincent Clark, archive specialist at the spectacular Shelby County Archives, the workhouse did indeed grow their own food. “Though they ate what they produced, the excess was sold off and went toward the support of the prisoners.” … and according to family lore, to the support of Agnes Grace Ferrer!

Produce crates outside the prison. Photograph courtesy of Shelby County Archives. Thanks to Vincent and everyone at Shelby County Archives for their help with this and countless other family mysteries!

In this 1938 map, the prison is labeled both as "Shelby County Hospital and Poor Farm" and as "Workhouse."
The three red perimeters on Holmes street show three adjacent family properties: 1028 (bottom) was the home of Edwin Booth Grace (et al), 1034 (center) was the home of Harry Doyle and Bertha McKee (et al), and 1038 (top) was the home of Gertrude Grace and her daughter Agnes (et al). The red perimeter of 3307 Lamphier shows the home of  Tom R. McKee (Gertrude's brother).