The Decline of the American Poorhouse System
- Catherine Gauldin
- 6 hours ago
- 15 min read
Throughout the nineteenth century, poorhouses—also known as poor farms, almshouses, or county homes—formed the backbone of public welfare in the United States. By the late 1800s, more than 2,400 such institutions operated across the country, housing a wide range of dependent populations, including the elderly, disabled, mentally ill, impoverished laborers, abandoned children, and people with chronic illnesses. For decades, these institutions represented the primary safety net available to Americans who lacked family support or financial means, yet by the end of the nineteenth century, the role of poorhouses began to shift. Reformers increasingly argued that certain vulnerable groups should not be housed in general poor farms. As a result, state governments assumed responsibility for the mentally ill, establishing state hospitals and asylums, while charitable organizations expanded services for children, orphans, and other specialized populations. As these reforms progressed, poorhouses gradually evolved into institutions serving primarily the elderly poor, rather than the broad mix of residents they had once sheltered. (1)
By the early twentieth century, the typical poorhouse resident was a middle-aged or elderly laborer who had spent a lifetime in low-wage agricultural or industrial work and reached old age without savings or family support. This demographic shift reflected both the expansion of direct relief programs and the continued absence of national pension or public health systems. Poorhouses increasingly became the final refuge for aging workers who had no other means of survival. A good source of information about the subject is Michael B. Katz, In the Shadow of the Poorhouse: A Social History of Welfare in America. 2nd ed. (1) Katz’s work is the definitive scholarly history of American poorhouses and welfare institutions. It explicitly documents the shift from mixed populations to primarily elderly, impoverished laborers,
the removal of children and the mentally ill to specialized institutions, the absence of national pension systems before Social Security, the role of poorhouses as the final refuge for aging workers and the impact of early relief programs on poorhouse demographics. This book is widely cited in academic literature and is considered the authoritative source on the subject. (2)
At the same time, governments began experimenting with new forms of public assistance. Mothers’ pension laws, (3)introduced in the early 1900s, allowed widowed or single mothers to remain at home with their children rather than placing them in institutions. (4) During the 1920s, many states added old-age assistance and aid for the blind, marking early steps toward more modern welfare systems. Studies conducted during this period revealed that maintaining poor farms was an expensive and inefficient form of relief, prompting policymakers to consider alternatives. (1)
Despite rising demand for relief during the Depression, the number of poor farms declined rapidly in the 1930s. Financial pressures and the expansion of state and federal assistance programs encouraged counties to close or reorganize their institutions to qualify for outside funding. Because poorhouse residents were generally not eligible for federal benefits under the Social Security Act of 1935, many counties converted their poor farms into hospitals or nursing homes to meet new regulatory requirements. (1)
The effects of Social Security were quickly visible. In many communities, poorhouse populations fell sharply during the late 1930s and 1940s as elderly residents began receiving pensions. Institutional care did not disappear entirely—roughly half of elderly poorhouse residents who applied for Social Security received benefits—but the expansion of federal welfare funding encouraged counties to transform poor farms into public nursing homes or long-term care facilities, often using the same buildings or land that had once housed the poorhouses. Earlier reforms had already reduced the number of women and children entering these institutions, as mothers’ aid programs increasingly allowed families to remain in their own homes. (5)
By the mid-twentieth century, the poorhouse system had largely vanished. The Social Security Act of 1935 marked a turning point in American public welfare, establishing national programs for old-age pensions and unemployment insurance that dramatically reduced reliance on locally administered poor farms. The remaining residents of these institutions were typically adults with disabilities or individuals requiring long-term care who could not be supported elsewhere. Most poor farms closed or were converted into nursing homes during the 1960s and early 1970s, though a few survived longer—for example, the Lewiston City Farm, which remained in operation until 1967. (6)
Today, the most visible surviving traces of the poorhouse era are the pauper cemeteries associated with these institutions. In many communities, counties have preserved these burial grounds and installed markers or memorials to commemorate the residents who lived and died within the poorhouse system. These cemeteries stand as quiet reminders of a once widespread institution that shaped the lives of thousands of Americans before the rise of modern social welfare programs.
The Rockingham County Home in Wentworth, North Carolina
Both William J. Gauldin and his wife Emma died in the County Home for the Aged in Wentworth, Virginia. When William died he was buried in an unmarked grave near the facility until a crude concrete gravestone was made for him by convicts. During the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries and before the advent of modern nursing homes, nearly every county in North Carolina operated a county home, sometimes called a poorhouse, almshouse, or home for the aged and infirm. These institutions housed people who were elderly, disabled, chronically ill, or impoverished, and who had no family able to care for them. Rockingham County was no exception.
By the early 1900s, the Rockingham County Home stood just outside Wentworth, the county seat. It was a simple, utilitarian facility—part farm, part dormitory, part infirmary. Residents lived in shared quarters, worked on the grounds if able, and received basic care from a small staff. Conditions varied over the decades, but county homes were generally austere places, intended to provide subsistence rather than comfort.
The home served several roles:
Shelter for the elderly poor
Care for the chronically ill or disabled
Housing for people without family support
A burial ground for residents who died without means
The cemetery associated with the home still exists today. For many years, graves were unmarked or marked only with fieldstones. Later, inmates from a nearby prison created simple concrete markers for the forgotten burials—including the grave of William J. “Bill” Gauldin.
By 1930, William J. Gauldin had reached his late eighties and was living out the final years of a long, difficult life. His wife, Elizabeth “Lizzie” Pemberton Gauldin, had died years earlier, leaving him widowed and alone. His children were grown and scattered across Virginia and North Carolina, each building families of their own. With no property, no steady income, and declining health, Gauldin faced the same reality that confronted many elderly rural Southerners of his generation: there were few options for care outside the family, and when family support was gone, the only refuge was the county home.
The Rockingham County Home, located just outside Wentworth, North Carolina, served as the county’s poorhouse and infirmary—a place where the aged, disabled, and destitute could find shelter and basic care. It was not a comfortable institution, but it provided food, warmth, and minimal medical attention for those who had nowhere else to go.
The 1930 United States Census records Gauldin as an “inmate” of the Rockingham County Home, living along Route 65 near Wentworth. He was listed as 87 years old, widowed, and unable to read or write, though still able to speak English and perform light work. His entry reflects the quiet dignity of an aging man who had spent his life as a farmer and laborer, now dependent on the county’s care in his final years.
William Gauldin remained at the County Home until his death on 22 June 1934. He was buried in the adjacent County Home Cemetery, among other residents who had lived and died within the institution’s walls. His grave, like many others there, was later marked with a simple concrete slab created by prison inmates—an enduring reminder of the lives once sheltered by the Rockingham County Home.
Historical Significance of the Rockingham County Home
The Rockingham County Home in Wentworth, North Carolina, was part of a broader system of public welfare that existed long before modern social programs. In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, rural counties throughout the South relied on these institutions—variously called poorhouses, almshouses, or homes for the aged and infirm—to care for residents who had no family support, no income, and no means of survival. The Rockingham County Home functioned precisely in this capacity, offering the most basic shelter and subsistence to those who had nowhere else to turn.
The existence of the County Home underscores the limited safety net available to elderly rural Southerners during this era. For aging farmers who had spent their lives working land they did not own, or who had lost their spouses and outlived their children’s ability to care for them, the county home was often the only remaining refuge. It also reflects the reliance on county-level institutions for indigent care, a system in which local governments assumed responsibility for the most vulnerable members of their communities.
Life in these homes was stark. Residents faced the harsh realities of poverty, declining health, and social isolation, particularly those who had spent their lives in agricultural labor and reached old age without savings or property. Many had outlived their families or had relatives who were themselves struggling to survive. In this context, entering the county home was not unusual—it was a common and often unavoidable outcome for elderly rural people across the South.
The story of William J. “Bill” Gauldin fits squarely within this historical pattern. His residence at the Rockingham County Home in 1930, and his burial in the adjacent pauper cemetery in 1934, reflects the experience of countless men and women of his generation. Far from being shameful, his presence there illustrates the realities of aging in a time and place where social services were minimal and family networks could not always provide care. The County Home served as the final refuge for many like him, marking an important chapter in the history of rural social welfare in Rockingham County.
Footprint of the Former Rockingham County Home
Although the Rockingham County Home no longer stands, its location can be reconstructed with considerable accuracy using the 1930 census description (“Route 65 — South Side”), county land records, historical plats, cemetery placement, and local oral history. Together, these sources reveal precisely where the poorhouse once stood and how the land is used today.
The County Home occupied a tract on the south side of NC‑65, directly opposite the present‑day Rockingham County Governmental Center in Wentworth. In 1930, this area was rural farmland; today it contains the county’s Public Works and Maintenance complex, including garages, storage buildings, utility yards, and open county‑owned land. This modern complex sits squarely on the footprint of the former poorhouse building and its surrounding farm.
Behind these Public Works facilities, on a small wooded rise, lies the County Home Cemetery, the only surviving physical remnant of the institution. The cemetery remains within the original County Home tract and contains numerous indigent burials—many unmarked, some marked only with fieldstones, and others with simple concrete slabs created decades later by prison inmates. Among those buried there is William J. “Bill” Gauldin, who died at the County Home in 1934.
In its original form, the County Home consisted of a large frame building with outbuildings and farmland extending behind it. These outbuildings and fields correspond today to the areas occupied by county storage yards, maintenance garages, and land near the modern animal shelter. The cemetery sits at the far rear of the tract, on slightly elevated ground that has remained largely undisturbed.
There are 194 graves in the County Home Cemetery in Wentworth as listed on Find a Grave. (7) The names are:
Name, Birth, Death, Memorial ID Number. Most of the graves have no marker.
Ann Adams unknown 11 Feb 1923 135383106
Felix Lawson Adkins 9 Jul 1886 – 10 Nov 1938 35792913
Nettie Aiken unknown – 28 Jan 1936 135383303
Mitchell Apple unknown – 16 Oct 1925 135383385
Tom Apple unknown – 11 Jul 1925 135385206
Martha Jane Manley Bailey Dec 1835 – 11 May 1917 77274659
Mary Balsley unknown – 9 Jun 1930 135381730
John Barnes unknown – 2 Jul 1914 135385273
Annie Barnwell unknown – 8 May 1918 135385412
John Bartee unknown – 15 Feb 1918 135385509
Ben Belton unknown – 22 Jan 1923 135385626
Allen Bennet unknown – 27 Mar 1915 135428908
James Bruce “Jim” Bethel unknown – 25 Apr 1938 135381758
Mary Bishop unknown – 30 Jan 1920 135429734
Jim Black unknown – 7 Feb 1936 135381790
Dorothy Lillian Blackwell unknown – 13 Feb 1940 135381834
Richard Blackwell unknown – 16 Mar 1919 135429887
William Henry Blackwell unknown – 22 Jul 1936 135429970
William Bolden unknown – 20 Jul 1915 135430071
Annie Bowen unknown – 5 Jan 1927 135430612
Tate Bracken unknown – 26 Mar 1926 135381840
Adeline Kesee Broadnax 1860 – 18 Aug 1929 35922699
Jack Broadnax unknown – 10 Dec 1915 135430760
Scott Broadnax unknown – 22 Nov 1922 135430858
T Broadnax unknown – 2 Oct 1929 135381866
Turner Douglas Broadnax unknown – 25 Oct 1938 135430940
James H Brooks unknown – 25 Jan 1919 135431039
Samuel “Sam” Brooks unknown – 22 Aug 1938 135381890
Manuel Brown unknown – 21 Jan 1939 135431089
Mary Belle Brown 1855 – 6 Mar 1931 Plot info: East side of cemetery 66900012
James Henry Bushnell 1889 – 30 Oct 1929 35923425
Lewis Canady 1853 – 29 Apr 1933 35793541
Millie Cannon unknown – 26 Jul 1920 135432135
Lemma A Carter unknown – 19 Jan 1944 135556954
Louisa Carter 1844 – 15 Nov 1914 124926660
Rufus W Carter unknown – 24 Apr 1939 135556993
Caroline Clanton unknown – 6 ??? 1916 135557048
Hugh Will Cluster unknown – 19 Jan 1944 135557111
Robert T Cobler unknown – 24 Nov 1923 135557193
Frank Collins 1888 – 19 Oct 1918 178070201
Jonas Colwells 1856 – 23 Apr 1914 135432091
Willie Covey 1866 – 20 Jan 1914 135557245
Charlotte Crafford unknown – 22 Jul 1922 135557276
Fannie Barnes Cryer 1851 – 2 May 1911 135557366
William L. “Billie” Cryer Jun 1836 – 19 Feb 1915 135557314
Milton Cummings unknown – 10 Dec 1922 135557426
Lewis Cunady unknown – 29 Apr 1933 135557488
Fannie Dalton unknown – 13 Feb 1921 135557522
William P Dunston unknown – 6 Feb 1934 135381921
Billie Durham unknown – 21 Sep 1938 135557567
Charles Lindy Dutton 30 May 1954 – 9 Sep 2012 96973344
Robert Easley unknown – 12 Apr 1939 135557620
Mary Edwards unknown – 5 Mar 1938 135381966
John “Jack” Ellerbe May 1900 – 10 Jan 1943 236943483
Charlie Ellis unknown – 31 Oct 1922 135557680
Allen Evans 1851 – 20 Feb 1931 135557735
John Stadler Evans 1859 – 29 Jul 1935 135557889
Missie Evans 1827 – 15 Jan 1914 135557838
George F unknown – 10 May 1918 135558044
Luther Farmer unknown – 21 Mar 1922 135558643
Ella Fergerson unknown – 13 Jan 1944 135558814
Major Daniel Ferguson Nov 1892 – 13 Apr 1931 135558900
Minerva Foster unknown – 29 Jan 1920 135559348
Fannie Franklin unknown – 25 Nov 1919 135559448
Jehu S Garner 1 Feb 1848 – 29 Feb 1936 35795119
Emma Lee Gaulding 1869 – 30 Dec 1936 135559639
William J. Gaulding 1844 – 22 Jun 1934 35923620
Mattie Franklin Gilbert Gilbert 1881 – 28 Mar 1935 35796180
T A Glenn unknown – 21 Apr 1925 135432184
Noel C. “Nowell” Goodman 30 Jun 1857 – 26 Jan 1929 35795092
Mary Graves unknown – 1 Oct 1919 135432245
John Wesley Grogan Oct 1852 – 30 Aug 1929 Plot info: Buried on the East side of the cemetery 82975610
Rasmus F. Grogan 1863 – 7 May 1934 35794940
Eliza Hale May 1859 – 19 Jun 1926 135380835
Letha Hariston unknown – 7 Feb 1927 135432344
Jessie Harris unknown – 5 Apr 1941 135382001
Harry Lee Harvey Sr. unknown – 24 Jan 1935 135380877
Henry Hawkins unknown – 5 Apr 1921 135432401
Williams “Will” Hays unknown – 26 Nov 1930 135382021
Sina “Lucy” Rice Henderson unknown – 7 Dec 1933 135382057
Jerry Herbin unknown – 11 Oct 1930 135382081
Earnest Hill 1884 – 17 Apr 1940 35792616
Joseph Henry “Joe” Hill Oct 1884 – 9 Mar 1917 135432434
Nancy Hill unknown – 8 Jan 1922 135432493
Sarah Elizabeth Hill unknown – 8 Jun 1931 135432545
George Hobbs 1860 – 9 Aug 1929 135381398
Charles Floyd Hodnette Jan 1871 – 12 Oct 1941 135432296
William “Flea” Hopper unknown – 11 Jan 1938 135432606
Smith Hughes unknown – 31 May 1925 135432879
Rosa Tatum Hundley 1856 – 31 Jul 1936 35793362
James “Jim” Jeffries unknown – 19 Nov 1939 135382118
William M Jeffries unknown – 3 Oct 1930 135432938
Grace Johnson unknown – 18 Nov 1917 135433111
Joe Johnson unknown – 12 Apr 1930 135382142
Johnny Johnson unknown – 27 Dec 1943 135433170
Mary Gracie Johnson 6 Apr 1899 – 18 Nov 1917 105299016
Arthur Johnston unknown – 15 Feb 1937 135382165
Joseph Johnston unknown – 12 Apr 1930 135433224
Raleigh Kennon 1894 – 28 Jun 1914 92080241
Tony Ace King unknown – 10 May 1933 135382184
George Lea unknown – 23 Nov 1931 135382205
Raleigh LeBass Jan 1840 – 11 Jan 1915 135559955
Alley Lee unknown – 28 Jan 1946 135561392
John Lewis 1874 – 9 Jan 1920 188589031
Lewis Lewis unknown – 19 Apr 1933 135380513
Mary Jane Miles Lewis Dec 1856 – 20 Dec 1931 135561544
Nellie Lewis unknown – 29 Jun 1925 135562415
Laura Lineberry unknown – 17 Dec 1937 135562494
Dennis Lynn unknown – 31 Oct 1932 135382218
Mack Maigon unknown – 20 Jun 1923 135562570
Ab Manuel 4 Dec 1835 – 13 Apr 1924 35921770
James Riley Mathews unknown – 8 Oct 1947 135563536
William M. Mays 1860 – 12 Jul 1934 35792752
Dolly McCollum unknown – 4 Jun 1918 135563889
Allen McGee unknown – 27 Feb 1938 135563939
Pierce Mebane unknown – 15 Apr 1935 135382228
Sarah Ann “Sallie” Riggsby Medley unknown – 12 Jun 1918 135563990
John Dryden Middleton 1853 – Feb 1898 139600339
Ben Mitchell unknown – 1 Mar 1931 135382247
Rachel Mooney unknown – 26 Aug 1916 35793060
John Moore unknown – 27 Dec 1920 135564048
William Moore unknown – 12 Feb 1926 135564107
James Lafayette Morton 1857 – 28 Feb 1924 135564160
Henry Motley 1886 – 26 Jan 1940 125197503
Soloman Murray unknown – 1925 135564194
Stephen W Myers Jun 1856 – 2 Mar 1938 135564281
Maggie Napper unknown – 7 Oct 1949 135564332
Alf Neal unknown – 30 Mar 1915 135564397
Ann Eliza Bowman Neal 1885 – 12 Feb 1930 35792366
William George “Bud” Nelson 1887 – 26 Oct 1935 135564438
Allen Wymer Nixon 1869 – 28 May 1944 135484417
George H. Nolen 1851 – 12 Apr 1916 75998624
William Oliver 1766 – 1851 260565437
Rosa Wachter Pavey 1867 – 29 Jan 1939 135484460
Martha Adeline Thacker Payne 1859 – 16 Feb 1914 300040658
Pink A Peddegrew unknown – 30 Dec 1928 135484537
William Johnson Perkins unknown – 26 Jan 1936 135382272
Samuel Henry Philpot unknown – 4 May 1939 135382306
Lottie Pinnix unknown – 25 Feb 1938 135484568
Sam Price 1844 – 12 Feb 1916 35921403
Sarah Ellen Martin Rhodes 1855 – 5 Aug 1931 135382345
Curley Richardson unknown – 24 Oct 1945 135484640
Alice Richmond unknown – 4 Jul 1935 135382366
George Roach Birth and death dates unknown. 294249037
Caroline Roberts unknown – 13 Nov 1919 135484665
Eugene Roberts 1 Aug 1908 – 12 Dec 1913 135484705
Archibald Robertson unknown – 9 Oct 1914 135484750
Jerry Russell unknown – 28 Feb 1916 135484782
Jeff Scales 1870 – 15 Oct 1915 83483106
Marriah Scales unknown – 14 Oct 1926 135382389
Mary Scales unknown – 25 Jun 1925 135484808
Rankin Scales 1875 – 19 Feb 1914 83714618
Alfred Settle unknown – 5 Jan 1928 135484856
John Settle unknown – 21 May 1925 135484884
John Henry Shreves unknown – 13 Dec 1934 135484993
Frances Adeline Perkins Simpson 1842 – 6 Jul 1929 135485023
Louisa Simpson unknown – 7 Apr 1930 135485057
Nancy Flynn Simpson unknown – 22 Jul 1919 135485102
Phoeba Simpson unknown – 1919 135485145
Sallie Simpson unknown – 13 Mar 1920 135485180
Zachariah Franklin Simpson 1850 – 26 Aug 1926 135485222
Slate unknown – 12 Apr 1939 135485271
Sarah Ann Fagg Smith 5 Jul 1835 – 9 May 1921 64131743
Charlie Southard unknown – 4 Aug 1918 135485307
Fannie Southard unknown – 20 Mar 1925 135485351
Mary Staples unknown – 26 Jul 1932 135565039
Ella “Harris” Stephens unknown – 11 Oct 1917 135565080
James Willie Stewart 1869 – 13 Sep 1939 35924491
Winnie Stultz unknown – 26 Dec 1920 135565133
Mary Terril unknown – 11 Mar 1923 135565213
Martha Thacker 1859 – 16 Feb 1914 135565285
George Thomas unknown – 6 Mar 1937 135382409
Andrew Jackson Tilley 1856 – 23 Oct 1939 28696874
Ace Tuggle unknown – 29 Aug 1927 135565447
Joe Thomas Tullock 1865 – 16 Jan 1934 135565682
Jasper Pomeroy Turner 29 Aug 1868 – 14 Aug 1944 135565776
Gustavus Adolphus Walker 30 Dec 1813 – unknown 177772488
Cummis Wall unknown – 15 Jun 1922 135566129
Tip Wall unknown – 1924 135566259
Green Columbus Wallace unknown – 26 Apr 1932 135382440
Sam Walters unknown – 17 Jan 1922 135566731
Burrell Watkins unknown – 22 Oct 1934 135382455
Nelson Watkins unknown – 5 Apr 1942 135566959
Willis Watkins unknown – 11 Oct 1927 135567261
James Watt unknown – 1 Oct 1922 135567889
Samuel Webster unknown – 18 Feb 1937 135568839
Robert Wells unknown – 20 Jul 1927 135382486
Mary Wheatly unknown – 14 Sep 1917 135570220
Samuel Williams unknown – 25 Jan 1938 135570287
Monroe Williamson Nov 1856 – 3 Apr 1931 135382504
Cajor Wilson 1856 – 14 Nov 1931 35921605
Eurie Wilson unknown – 26 May 1946 135570433
Jasper Wilson unknown – 23 Apr 1930 135382588
Reuben Wilson unknown – 5 Mar 1938 135570509
Works Cited
1. Katz, Michael B. In the Shadow of the Poorhouse: A Social History of Welfare in America. 2nd ed. Basic Books, 1996.
2. Poorhouse. Wikipedia. [Online] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poorhouse?utm_source=copilot.com.
3. Gordon, Linda. Pitied But Not Entitled: Single Mothers and the History of Welfare, 1890–1935. s.l. : Harvard University Press, 1994.
4. Skocpol, Theda. Protecting Soldiers and Mothers: The Political Origins of Social Policy in the United States. s.l. : Harvard University Press, 1992.
5. Trattner, Walter I. From Poor Law to Welfare State: A History of Social Welfare in America. 6th ed. s.l. : Free Press, 1999.
6. Wagner, David. The Poorhouse: America’s Forgotten Institution. s.l. : Rowman & Littlefield, 2005.
7. County Home Cemetery Wentworth. Find a Grave. [Online] https://www.findagrave.com/cemetery/2301312/memorial-search?cemeteryName=County+Home+Cemetery&page=10#sr-35921605.
8. John E. Hansan, Ph.D. Poor Relief in Early America. VCU Libraries Social Welfare History Project. [Online] https://socialwelfare.library.vcu.edu/programs/poor-relief-early-amer/?utm_source=copilot.com.
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