During the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, rural counties throughout the nation operated “poor farms.” Here indigent citizens received lodging in exchange for work that provided their sustenance. Pendleton County acquired a 281-acre tract in the 1880s and built the large, frame house to shelter its poor a decade or two later. One of the few known survivors of its type in the state, the building stands close to the road and is easily seen. Stylistically, it relates to the American Foursquare, but it is far more expansive than individual residences of the time. Two and one-half stories tall, it has a main section and a side wing, both with broad hipped roofs accommodating large hip-roofed dormer windows. A one-story front porch extends across both sections.