Historic Environments

Two places that our class visited over the past two weeks were the previous locations of the Ulster County and Dutchess County Poorhouses. Sadly, there are very few known details about those who lived in the poor houses outside of the actual locations of these sites.

Today, these two places share the same purpose: to bury the abandoned members of the poor houses with as much ambiguity as possible. However, while one of these sites attempts to distract visitors from its tragic history, the other attempts to shed light on its history in a confusing way.

The slanting fence and lone gravestone of the previous site of the Ulster County Poorhouse

This sign was relatively far from the actual burial grounds (which are under and around the playground and pool)

When we visited the site of the past Ulster County Poorhouse and its cemetery, we could not recognize it at all! Shockingly, it had been transformed into a playground, pool, and parking lot open to the public next to an encroaching forest. Additionally, there are neat beds of grass around the recreational area that make the history of the area even more forgettable. One of the only traces of the area’s history was an unmarked gravestone directly outside of the fenced playground’s perimeter. Also, the fence was sloping downwards at some points, which indicated uneven ground possibly due to the number of unmarked graves beneath the fence. After walking away from the recreational area and past some folded bleachers, our class found a relatively large sign giving the history of the poorhouse’s residents’ graves. Ironically, there is only one proper labelled grave that was most likely for someone who was related to the owners of the poorhouse rather than someone who actually lived in the poorhouse. Clearly, the previous location of Ulster County Poorhouse needs to do a much better job of respecting those who remain forgotten.

Comparatively, the site of the old Dutchess County cemetery was slightly more obvious in its respect for its unfortunate history. Behind the ruins of the old poorhouse, there were seemingly countless graves that were simply marked with either a small green flag or a little numbered peg. However, there are probably not many visitors due to the wilderness of the graves; there were even a few trees growing in the graves themselves!

A panoramic view of the graves of residents of the Dutchess County Poorhouse as well as others who were forgotten by society

One of the pegs indicating the existence of a grave

And while more graves were marked at this site compared to the site in Ulster County, these graves were very ambiguous with respect to individuals. This makes it even more confusing for those visiting without prior knowledge of the site. Thus, despite showing visitors graves that were somewhat-marked, this site does not do justice to the masses of people who remain unnamed in their graves.

The graves of both the previous Ulster County Poorhouse and the old Dutchess County Poorhouse have a lot of room for improvement. However, if we recognize and properly respect the residents who lived and died without a written trace, these places can become spaces of remembrance and contemplation.