Established in 1911, the building and its surrounding grounds operated as a poor farm housing the ill and indigent populations in the Portland metropolitan area at the beginning of the twentieth century, after the closure of a poor farm in the city's West Hills.

This facility, called Hillside Farm, occupied 160 acres (65 ha) near Canyon Road in Portland's West Hills; the site is now part of Washington Park.

[5] The main building was constructed by a plastering crew as well as Swedish immigrants who worked as carpenters or bricklayers.

[2] In the late 1950s, the farming operation ceased and the name was changed to the Edgefield Manor.

[2] In 1972, the county proposed closing the entire Edgefield facilities down,[2] and an estimate for necessary renovations made three years later was valued at $400,000.

[2] It features restaurants, pubs, gardens, movie theaters, a golf course, wedding locales, and an outdoor concert venue that hosts international musical acts.