Town Meeting Minute -- Auctioning Care of the Poor

At one time, towns cared for the poor through a reverse auction.

I’m Jon Greenberg with this town meeting minute.

This wasn’t slavery. At town meeting in the 17 and early 18 hundreds, people with a room to spare might bid for the right to take in a person or family in need. They would house them and feed them in exchange for payment from the town. The lowest bidder won. Steven Leavenworth has been systematically going through the original records at the New Hampshire Historical Society. He says, farmers sometimes used this as way to get cheap labor.

LEAVENWORTH: Those that could work, worked the farm and helped pay for their own food and so on, just by working there.

1823 record of fees paid to support paupers in Eaton (Jon Greenberg, NHPR)

Towns took care of widows and those who became too ill or too old to work. But charity was limited. If a poor family walked into town, they might just as well be asked to keep walking.

Today, federal and state programs play a large role in helping the poor, but after them, towns are still known as the third safety net.

With this town meeting minute, I’m Jon Greenberg.