Tombstone Tuesday--County Farm Cemetery

Well, sort of a Tombstone Tuesday anyway. That may look like a barren hill, but it is the cemetery where the county poor who had been residing at the county farm, or poor house were buried. Not far out of town, it does have stones. Where, you ask?
That's the story.

This cemetery lies behind the county nursing home. Above you can see the back of the facility. When the nursing home was being constructed, the local thought was that the older citizens living in the facility would find the hill full of graves depressing.
As a result of this thinking. All the stones were lifted and laid flat. They were, I believe buried with a few inches of soil. They are reportedly still lying there.

I never heard the story, until I first started working here in the local history room. My partner in crime, Sandy has been out there. We also have the transcripts of at least some of the names.

These pictures seem to take in a larger area then the names we have listed would account for.

The transcript show burials beginning in 1902. The last, recorded after a gap of 15 years was in 1933. The causes of death range from drowning, senility, cancer, even a suicide.

Its so sad that these stones were hidden. In my indignation when I heard the story, I felt it would have been more encouraging to those living in the nursing home to know others may be gone, but were not forgotten.

Apparently it is a feeling that was not shared at the time the current nursing home was built. Maybe my genealogy was showing