The land that now constitutes County Farm Park was bought by Washtenaw County in 1836 from local resident Claudius Britton for $1,200.
In order to comply with an 1830 Michigan Territory law requiring every county in the territory to construct and operate a poorhouse, Washtenaw County opened the County Poor House on the site in 1837.
The Poor House was home to a diverse group of impoverished people, including those with physical and mental disabilities, injuries, illnesses, and those who were transient or simply unlucky.
The Poor House was operated by a "keeper", a local man with a background in agriculture who lived on site, while his wife was expected to cook for the residents.
The Poor House was intended to be a self-sustaining working farm on which the residents covered their living expenses by growing and selling crops and livestock, although such sales never covered all of its costs except for a few years during the Civil War.
The farm consisted of gardens used for growing vegetables and grains, orchards of apple, peach, and pear trees, and livestock including pigs, cattle, sheep, and chickens.

In 1917, the original Poor House building was replaced by a brick hospital known as the Washtenaw Infirmary.
In the 1930s, the advent of modern welfare led to a shift in institutional emphasis from sheltering the poor to serving those who needed continual medical care but could not afford it.
The Infirmary continued to operate until 1967, when it was required to either modernize or close.
In 1971, the Infirmary was finally closed after county officials concluded that it would be too costly to modernize, and the building itself was torn down in 1979.
After the closure of the Infirmary, Saint Joseph Mercy Hospital considered moving to the site, but eventually decided on relocating elsewhere.
The county then contemplated building a new courthouse on the grounds of the old Poor House before the land was turned over to the county's Parks and Recreation Commission for the creation of County Farm Park.

The roots of the modern park itself go back to 1972, when Project Grow began gardening on eight acres of the site while the abandoned Washtenaw Infirmary building was still standing.
In 1976, the Parcour exercise trail (now the fitness trail) was constructed as a jogging and exercise trail in the mold of European fitness courses.
By the 1980s, the Project Grow gardens and the exercise trail had been joined by a woodland trail and a perennial garden on what was at the time 127 acres of park land.
In 1991, the Meri Lou Murray Recreation Center was built on the site of the old Infirmary, at the northeastern corner of the park.

In 2013, the park was formally renamed "Nelson Meade County Farm Park" to honor the contributions of Nelson Meade (1927–2018), the commissioner of the Washtenaw County Parks and Recreation Commission, upon his retirement.
The land that now constitutes County Farm Park was bought by Washtenaw County in 1836 from local resident Claudius Britton for $1,200. In order to comply with an 1830 Michigan Territory law requiring every county in the territory to construct and operate a poorhouse, Washtenaw County opened the County Poor House on the site in 1837. The Poor House was home to a diverse group of impoverished people, including those with physical and mental disabilities, injuries, illnesses, and those who were transient or simply unlucky. The Poor House was operated by a "keeper", a local man with a background in agriculture who lived on site, while his wife was expected to cook for the residents. The Poor House was intended to be a self-sustaining working farm on which the residents covered their living expenses by growing and selling crops and livestock, although such sales never covered all of its costs except for a few years during the Civil War. The farm consisted of gardens used for growing vegetables and grains, orchards of apple, peach, and pear trees, and livestock including pigs, cattle, sheep, and chickens.
In 1917, the original Poor House building was replaced by a brick hospital known as the Washtenaw Infirmary. In the 1930s, the advent of modern welfare led to a shift in institutional emphasis from sheltering the poor to serving those who needed continual medical care but could not afford it. The Infirmary continued to operate until 1967, when it was required to either modernize or close. In 1971, the Infirmary was finally closed after county officials concluded that it would be too costly to modernize, and the building itself was torn down in 1979. After the closure of the Infirmary, Saint Joseph Mercy Hospital considered moving to the site, but eventually decided on relocating elsewhere. The county then contemplated building a new courthouse on the grounds of the old Poor House before the land was turned over to the county's Parks and Recreation Commission for the creation of County Farm Park.
The roots of the modern park itself go back to 1972, when Project Grow began gardening on eight acres of the site while the abandoned Washtenaw Infirmary building was still standing. In 1976, the Parcour exercise trail (now the fitness trail) was constructed as a jogging and exercise trail in the mold of European fitness courses. By the 1980s, the Project Grow gardens and the exercise trail had been joined by a woodland trail and a perennial garden on what was at the time 127 acres of park land. In 1991, the Meri Lou Murray Recreation Center was built on the site of the old Infirmary, at the northeastern corner of the park.
In 2013, the park was formally renamed "Nelson Meade County Farm Park" to honor the contributions of Nelson Meade (1927–2018), the commissioner of the Washtenaw County Parks and Recreation Commission, upon his retirement.
County Farm Park