Property owners wants to know county’s intentions

Land known as the Traill County Poor Farm has been in the Gerald Kimbrell family for nearly 50 years.
Forty-nine, to be exact.
Once the center of a 273-acre working farm, the property encompassing more than 100 acres was leased in 1955 to Clarence Blake of Caledonia.
The three-story brick and concrete structure was designated then as a home for the aged.
Traill County in 1958 sold the property to Gerald and Ruby Kimbrell of Cooperstown.
The Kimbrell family operated Fair Acres rest home for the next 20 years.
Steve and Lisa Kimbrell today live on the Fair Acres property.
Jerry and Phyllis Kimbrell lived on the property until Jerry’s death five years ago. Steve Kimbrell is the son of Jerry Kimbrell.
Steve Kimbrell is aware of the interest in the Poor Farm Cemetery.
He’s been told the county wants access to the cemetery.
However, he’s never been approached by either Caledonia Township or Traill County officials regarding the cemetery and its accessibility.
Nor has he been provided information on the Poor Farm Cemetery.
“I don’t understand how they operate in this county? This isn’t the way to do business.”
What does gaining access mean? he asked.
Kimbrell and his wife will allow anyone access to the cemetery, provided they ask permission and schedule an appointment to visit the cemetery.
The Kimbrells live about a half mile from the cemetery. The closest road is a half mile from the cemetery, which is surrounded by a field of wheat farmed by Rocky Nettum.
Kimbrell isn’t anxious to take productive ag land out of production to allow access to the cemetery.
It is private land, he points out. Land that has been in the Kimbrell family for many years, he adds.
He’s been told how his grandfather, Gerald Kimbrell, often asked for help in maintaining and preserving the Poor Farm Cemetery. The requests for assistance were dismissed or rejected by county officials.
Now he has people attempting to gain access to the cemetery unannounced and uninvited, sometimes during hunting season.
In these cases, Steve Kimbrell said the intrusions were trespassing, as far as he was concerned.
“And I don’t appreciate that.”
Personally, he said, “I don’t appreciate how we’ve been treated on this whole issue.”
Again, he said, “I’ve never been talked to about this. No one from the county has approached us. We’re not trying to keep people out of there, they just show up without asking permission.”
That said, he will allow visitation by appointment.
Meanwhile, he said, he will continue to maintain the small piece of property that surrounds the unmarked grave sites.
As simple as the issue seems, Steve Kimbrell said it is complicated.
People are trespassing on private land, he explains.
They obviously want to see the 75-year-old cemetery, he speculates.
What the county wants, Steve Kimbrell isn’t sure.