University of Southern Maine

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What Happened Before Social Security: Going Back to the Poorhouses of New England

February 16, 2005

At a time when the Bush Administration unveils plans to overhaul Social Security, USM professor and award-winning author David Wagner released a new book that examines how the poor, elderly, widows, orphans, and physically and mentally ill were treated prior to the establishment of the Social Security Administration. The book, described by noted author and historian Howard Zinn as an “extraordinary journey” through a “much-neglected part of American life” tells the story of the days when the poor or different were put into workhouses, almshouses, and poor farms. The case studies and photos in the book focus on institutions in Lewiston and Portland, Maine; Haverhill and Worcester, Mass.; and Carroll and Rockingham Counties, N.H.

Wagner, a professor of social work and sociology, is an expert on today's homeless and researched poorhouses in New England to discover what texts mention only briefly. Wagner explains his interest was piqued when a student of his told him she had a parent who lived on the Lewiston poor farm. “No one has written about these institutions,” says Wagner, “some of which were in operation well into the 1960s.”

Poor farms were supposed to have the poor work to grow produce, but often were inhabited by the old and feeble unable to do physical labor. Others only came in the winter months when jobs were unavailable and warmth was needed. Although there were Yankees in New England's poor houses, Wagner found that most of the inhabitants were more recent immigrants -- the Irish, Italians, and French.

During the 18th and 19th centuries the poor, criminals, mentally ill, children and aged were all lumped together in poorhouses, even those who had nearby relatives. Almost every town had a facility, and today road signs with the names “county farm road” or “town farm road” indicate where the old poor farms were located.

Editor's Note: For interviews, call Wagner at 207-780-4764 or email at wagner@usm.maine.edu or professors@aol.com.

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