There is so much rich history to explore in New Hampshire. Now that the leaves have fallen, it is easier to notice old buildings and structures, or even a hidden cemetery in the snow.

There is a small cemetery hiding just beyond the busy intersection of Route 101A and Route 122 (also known as Ponemah Road) in Amherst. However, you need to slow down to even notice it.

The humble cemetery is just a short walk down a sloped hill among the quiet pine trees. Surrounded by an old white fence and four granite posts, the cemetery measures 21 by 21 square feet. There, a lonely grave monument simply states “Pauper’s Cemetery Town of Amherst.”

According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, a pauper is a person destitute of means except such as derived from charity, or a very poor person. And like most towns in New England, Amherst has a long history of hardship and strong community connections. Times were especially difficult during the 1800s, and in order to help take care of their indigent or impoverished citizens, the town created a home for them.

According to town reports, in 1831 the town purchased Kendrick Farm from John Mack who was a blacksmith. The large farm was 276 acres and became the home for the indigent and poor. The hired families who ran it and took care of the residents made it successful through hard work and collaboration. The majority of the residents were elderly with no family to support them. From 1832- 1892, the town-owned farm supported the residents and also contributed to the town’s food inventory. Tragically, the house and most of its history burned down in 1892, and the land was later sold in 1898 to a dairy farmer named Frank A. Holbrook.

The Town Records of Amherst 1760-1900 (on microfiche), states that in March of 1840, the town “voted to appropriate a piece of land on the town farm for a burying ground and that the selectman be authorized to fence the same.”

In June 1984, Susannah B. Means of the Amherst Historical Society wrote a newsletter article about the Amherst Poor Farm. During the 1930s, a gentleman by the name of Clarence Hagar acted as sexton (which is a grave digger or cemetery groundskeeper) for the town for 28 years and later became a cemetery trustee, “he set a white painted cement stone there near Route 122 and annually placed flowers there. The stone is still there, over the embankment.”

Jackie Marshall is the genealogy chair for the Historical Society of Amherst and has lived in Amherst for 26 years.

“The cemetery is bigger than the little fenced section suggests; about an acre,” Marshall said. “You can see it on the town tax map. The town Department of Public Works maintains the cemeteries, including the Pauper Cemetery. We don’t really know who is buried there, but one would think that there is a very good possibility that there would be veterans buried there, too.”

Marie Grella has been a resident in Amherst for 53 years and works as the board committee chair for the Cemetery Trustees.

“They buried the poor there because they could not afford a proper burial. No one knows who or how many are there,” Grella shared.

Grella has put the flag there for the last 15 years in tribute in case a veteran was buried there.

“It’s nice to see something there. The town put the fence around it to protect it, and we are always looking for volunteers to paint it. I have been lucky to get high school kids over the years.” Grella explained.

Steven Desmarais, a lifelong Amherst resident, lived his entire childhood looking at the cemetery from 1953 to 1972.

“I grew up in the house right across the street from the Pauper’s Cemetery. There are a bunch of people buried there. It was commonly called Potter’s Fields.”

Desmarais, who enjoys local history was selectman from 1997-2003. He was involved in the restoration of the cemetery.

“It was my capacity to authorize spending the money,” he said. “Richard Medlyn of Medlyn Monuments in Milford provided the headstone.”

“The issue really is – it is not easy to be poor. Those people died with nobody. I can’t imagine what life was like. It must have been awful. Can you imagine?” Desmarais shared.

In reflection, Pauper’s Cemetery is an important part of New Hampshire history. What also is important to remember is that when individuals were struggling, the town created a place to care for the indigent and poor, and when they passed away, the town made a place to honor them. We may not know their names, but they are remembered.

The town continues to care for them and maintain the cemetery.

“We do a spring clean-up and sometimes, if weather permits, a fall clean-up. Every two or three years, a good brush cutting is done and bark mulch is added inside the fence. Fence repair is done as needed,” said Perry Day, buildings foreman for the town of Amherst Department of Public Works.

So now you know the sad and moving tale of Pauper’s Cemetery in Amherst.

Much gratitude to Sarah Leonardi, assistant library director of the Amherst Library for her time in helping me locate the town’s historical records and run the microfiche machine, to Katrina Holman for creating and saving a very organized inventory of Amherst’s history and the Amherst Historical Society for their newsletters and book Amherst New Hampshire 1881-1982 A Sleeping Town Awakens.