If you had lived back in the 1800’s and life’s fortunes had left you poor, what might your fate have been? STEVE TAYLOR, historian, farmer, journalist, raconteur, and longtime Commissioner of Agriculture in New Hampshire, will be addressing that very question with his talk POOR HOUSES AND TOWN FARMS: THE HARD ROW FOR PAUPERS on SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 11 at 2:00 PM in the West Newbury Congregational Church. He will be explaining how towns like Newbury came to establish Town Farms for the poor and the factors leading to their disappearance. He will give evidence to suggest that in many cases Town Farms were not noble homes of charity but rather institutions of peonage. This is the third and final summer program sponsored by the Newbury Historical Society. It is free and open to the public. Light refreshments will be served following the program.

Jan 30, 2025, 6 to 7:30 PM

Feb 2, 2025, 5 to 7:55 PM

Feb 4, 2025, 7:30 to 8:15 AM