Knox County moving forward with plans to raze old poor farm

Commissioner T.J. Brink told his fellow commissioners that county officials have been in touch with a third-party company that does “ground penetration sonar,” a method that will essentially look for, and possibly identify, any human remains buried on the site of the former Knox County Poor Asylum.

“We know of at least 11 that are deceased (buried) there,” Brink said. “So we know there are some, but we definitely want to verify that there are no others.

“We want to make sure we are not doing anything to disturb a gravesite, even though I don’t believe we will because (the new building) will essentially be on the same footprint.”

Commission president Kellie Streeter, too, said that architects with Vincennes’ RQAW — who are doing the schematic design for the proposed Emergency Operations Center — have gone with emergency officials here to tour other, similar facilities in Greenfield and Green Castle.

“From what I understand, they are having incredibly productive meetings,” she said.

Streeter also said the county hasn’t yet had any communication with state “historical partners” in regards to its plans to raze the old poor farm.

The poor farm has changed hands multiple times over the years, yet always comes back to the county commissioners due to a lack of progress on restoration and repairs.

Listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the building in 2023 was listed for the second year in a row on Indiana Landmarks' Top 10 Most Endangered List.

Yet county officials have said, since it's been abandoned for so long, they don't expect any resistance in their efforts to tear it down.

Also included in the county’s three-phase plan for improvements is the potential demolition of the former county corrections building on the downtown courthouse campus. The historic old jail — the space that currently houses the county's probation department — would remain.

In its place, the county would look to move ahead with the construction of a new Judicial Center, which would house all of the county's courts and its new magistrate.

The Judicial Center, too, would house the prosecutor's office and veterans services, meaning that the courthouse annex would be empty, and likely placed up for sale.

The Judicial Center, according to an early estimate provided by RQAW, would likely cost upwards of $10.5 million, should county elected officials opt to move forward later.

They were careful to say that the demolition of the old poor farm and subsequent erection of the new Emergency Operations Center would come first, with the Judicial Center following later.

As for the courthouse itself, the commissioners said the offices of auditor, treasurer, assessor, etc. will likely remain, and they will look to renovate one of the courts into a meeting space; the county currently doesn't have one.

The renovation of the courthouse was kept to a minimum as it was so costly. Current — and tentative — plans for renovation aren’t likely to exceed $150,000, Streeter has said.

In other business this week, Roy Dressler, a manger with Hallador Energy Co., went before the commissioners asking to amend Sunrise Coal’s road agreement with the county.

He asked to add a small section (less than a mile) of Kerns Road near the “Marmaduke property” to the current agreement. Their plans, he told the commissioners, are to add a dust hole there, or an area where they deposit coal dust back into the ground.

Streeter indicated that she had spoken with residents adjacent to the property and heard “no issues” with Sunrise Coal’s plans.

Too, she said that the partnership with Sunrise Coal had always been a good one, adding that the roads part of the current use agreement are always well-maintained and repaired, when necessary.

Commissioner Trent Hinkle, too, said Sunrise Coal was “always a good player, a good partner.”

So the commissioners voted unanimously to approve the amendment to the road use agreement to include that portion of Kerns Road.