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3016 Portage Avenue Historical Context This property is located on the east side of Portage Avenue just south of the Indiana Toll Road, in South Bend, Indiana. It is described as being 113.8 acres northeast 1/4 of Portage Avenue, section 27-38-2E of St. Joseph County. The St. Joseph County Infirmary, now called Portage Manor, at 3016 Portage Avenue stands on property that was originally owned by Rezeau and Nancy Brown. In 1905, the Board of County Commissioners purchased the Brown Farm, beyond the Riverview Cemetery, for $20,962.50, as the site of the new County Farm and Infirmary. A large Classical revival structure was erected for the infirmary by the Keogan Construction Company, who submitted the winning bid of $72,549.69. The plans for the building were drawn by local architects George W. Freyermuth and R. Vernon Maurer. When the building was not completed by the Keogan Construction Company within the contract period, the Federal Union Surety Company assigned the building responsibility to the Miller and Donahue Lumber Company of South Bend. The actual cost of the infirmary, including the cost of the farm, and the sewer was $126,370.80. The building was designed to be 50 by 450 feet, made of red brick with stone trimmings, consisting of two stories and a basement. The plans for the building included the administration department of the asylum located in the center. The residence of the superintendent occupied the front portion of the building. Immediately behind this residence was the women's quarters and to the left were located the men's quarters. Each ward included hospital rooms, nurse rooms and toilets and baths. An operating room was also located on the main floor of the building. The new facility was built to accommodate about 90 women and 195 men. On April 4, 1907 the patients were transferred to the brand new building described as, "one of the most beautiful and salubrious." This new building brought the County into what was then considered the modern era of health care. Although the institution was historically defined as being an infirmary, it was, and is, a public facility existing for the purpose of providing shelter and care for those dependent upon the public for subsistence. The original occupant of this land, Rezeau Brown, was born in New Jersey in 1824 and came to St. Joseph County, Indiana in 1834, and is thus regarded as one of the areas earliest pioneers. Rezeau Brown was a mason by trade and was responsible for erecting many of the city's first buildings, including the first Odd Fellows Hall and the first college building in Notre Dame University. In 1852 Mr. Brown took up farming in German Township, he later traded his contracting business for land speculation and bartering which is how he acquired the land at 3016 Portage Avenue.