Before Pulaski County ever built a county infirmary, it left the care of its poor to the lowest bidder. Residents competed for contracts to house the county’s most vulnerable, with the cheapest offer winning. For some, it meant a safe home and compassionate care. For others, it meant a life of exploitation as unpaid laborers in the very homes entrusted with their welfare1.
In 1865, Pulaski County officials purchased a frame house and its outbuildings on 165 acres of farmland to serve as the county home. Unfortunately, the house wasn’t long for this world and soon deteriorated. A two-story brick addition that cost $3,250 was added to it in 18812.
The added space meant progress, but not everyone was in agreement with the new county home. In an 1881 newspaper article, the press called the new “Pauper’s Palace” an outrage to taxpayers3! Despite some negative public opinion, the addition was eventually completed by contractor Andrew P. Wall4.
The 1881 wing of the Pulaski County Home measures 60 x 25 feet and reaches from north to south. It’s a simple brick building with segmentally-arched openings and a low, hipped roof that suggest equal parts Italianate and vernacular architecture- sort of a middle ground between style and practicality.
That said, the county home didn’t stay modest for long. In 1897, officials dramatically expanded it by adding a north wing for women and a south wing for men5. Joseph Crain designed the overhaul, which didn’t just tack on new space but reworked the original building and even carved out two basements beneath it.
From the east, the result carried a sense of order and intention. The new wings balanced the older core into something that looked nearly symmetrical! Upon its completion, the new infirmary became the largest standalone structure in Pulaski County6.
In 1908, the institution featured 160 acres of tillable land and a hundred trees in its orchard. Sixteen residents called the place home, as did four head of cattle, four cows, three horses, and twelve head of swine7. The working farm was wired for electricity in 1913.
The 1940s saw the installation of old-school tube-slide fire escapes so common to Indiana’s old infirmaries. They were replaced with wooden stairs covered in fiberglass installed in 1984, around the time the institution became known as Pleasant View Rest Home8.
The Pulaski County Home plugged along without much controversy for about twenty years. Things changed in 2007, though, when rumors spread that officials planned to close the place instead of investing public funds to repair and restore it. As a result of the kerfuffle, two groups were formed: Pleasant View Advisory Board and Friends of Pleasant View. Grants and donation allowed the home to stay open and intact9.
Unfortunately, the efforts didn’t last for long. In 2014, the Pulaski County Council decided not to fund the home’s operation. Left with little choice after the funding dried up, County Commissioners voted to close the building in 2015. Eight residents still called it home10.
In the end, Pulaski County’s old infirmary was sold to a private party that intended to convert it into apartments in 201711. I’ve read that those efforts are surprisingly difficult with buildings like county homes, and that might be what led the home to be sold again five years later12.
Today, fences surround the 145-year-old Pulaski County Home. What began as a patchwork system of care eventually became a sprawling, purpose-built institution meant to bring order to hardship. Now, the old Pulaski County Home reminds us that even our best intentions have a lifespan; that the buildings we leave behind often outlast the systems, and the people, they were built to serve.
Sources Cited
1 Counties of White and Pulaski, Indiana (1883). F.S. Battey & Co. [Chicago]. Book.
2 National Register of Historic Places, Pulaski County Home, Winamac, Pulaski County, Indiana, National Register # 15000079.
3 Pleasant View Rest Home nominated for designation to National Register of Historic Places (2015, January 27). The Pulaski Post [Winamac]. Web. Retrieved March 26, 2026.
4 (See footnote 2).
5 (See footnote 2).
6 (See footnote 2).
7 (See footnote 2).
8 (See footnote 2).
9 (See footnote 2).
10 Pleasant View Rest Home Operations to Cease Tomorrow (2015, March 30). WYMR [Knox]. Web. Retrieved March 26, 2026.
11 Gallenberger, M. (2017, June 7). Pleasant View Rest Home Sold. WYMR [Knox]. Web. Retrieved March 26, 2026.
12 Parcel 66-07-14-300-081.002-010 (2026). Office of the Assessor. Pulaski County [Winamac]. Web. Retrieved March 26, 2026.
