草屯庄月眉厝保甲事務所

August 18th, 2024

Yuemeicuo (月眉厝) is a traditional settlement on the west side of Caotun, Nantou County. It was home to a police station in Japanese colonial times as well as this former office of the hokō or baojia system (保甲制度) of community policing on Bishan Road (碧山路).

A first glimpse at a historic office of the hokō system in rural Caotun. — A first glimpse at a historic office of the *hokō* system in rural Caotun.

Most hokō offices have been destroyed over the decades as part of routine police station renovations and upgrades but this one escaped a similar fate by being auctioned off to the private sector. The exact timing and circumstances are unclear, but it’s possible that demographic changes in the aftermath of the catastrophic flooding of August 7th, 1959 (八七水災) might have led to a relocation of the police station. Following this, or perhaps later on, the hokō office was acquired by Zhongnan Ceramics Company (中南窯業股份有限公司), a brick and tile manufacturer, only to be abandoned around 2011¹.

A Closer Look at Caotun Yuemeicuo Baojia Office (草屯庄月眉厝保甲事務所)

Oblique View of Caotun Yuemeicuo Baojia Office (草屯庄月眉厝保甲事務所)

Almost nothing is written about this historic building online except for some comments on Facebook. Even so, we can discern a few more details from a visual inspection of the structure. The most interesting feature is the circular emblem over the main entrance, which still bears the imprint of the character bao (保). Surrounding this emblem is a trace of the plum blossom and laurel insignia of the national police agency, which would have been added sometime in the post-war period, and later stripped from the building.

A peek inside the derelict building from a side window.

This assessment is based on a review of Google Street View data. ↩

Warning: this location is abandoned, hazardous, or otherwise neglected and may be unsafe and even dangerous! Exercise appropriate precautions when visiting.

警告：此處已廢棄或長期無人管理，可能存在潛在危險。造訪時請務必提高警覺，並做好相關安全防護措施。