For about a century, a farm operated on a hillside in Hardwick. At one point, it was said to have one of the finest herds of cows in town. But life for those working the farm was less rosy. They were known as “inmates” — though they hadn’t committed crimes. This was Hardwick’s “poor farm.”

Vermont towns used to be required by law to provide welfare locally. That’s where poor farms came in. A listener from Shelburne wants to know if there’s anything we can learn from this approach — in spite of its problems:

“What were Vermont's 'poor farms' like, and could parts of the poor farm model of local aid be adapted for the needs of today?”

Find the web version of this episode here.

This episode was reported by Elodie Reed and produced by Sabine Poux. Editing and additional production from Burgess Brown and Josh Crane. Angela Evancie is Brave Little State’s executive producer. Theme music by Ty Gibbons; other music by Blue Dot Sessions.

Special thanks to Zoe McDonald, Lexi Krupp, Erica Heilman, Liz Gauffreau, Tara Reese, Kent Osborne, Carlotta Hayes, Eric Jonathan, Jackson Miller and all the folks we spoke to at Heartbeet Lifesharing

As always, our journalism is better when you’re a part of it:

Brave Little State is a production of Vermont Public and a proud member of the NPR Network.