Description of Historic Place

The York County Municipal Home Cemetery, also known as the Pauper Cemetery, is located in Nashwaaksis area of Fredericton at the rear of a subdivision opposite York Manor. The cemetery, established in 1921, is situated between the juncture of Ferris and Jewett Streets and the walking trail.

Heritage Value

The York County Municipal Home, which opened in 1921, had been established for the care of the poor. Without the benefit of a family or social network, the destitute, the elderly, and the disadvantaged became wards of the county. The residents of the Municipal Home came from every parish in York County, and were primarily united by poverty, illness, infirmity, and old age. Since most of the Municipal Home’s residents had not the financial resources for burial expenses, a grave yard had been established on site. The Pauper Cemetery, as it was known, is a significant local burial ground as it is the final resting place for York County’s poor and disadvantaged. This burial ground also represents the county’s participation in a social welfare plan that provided aid to those who could not care for themselves.

More than 120 residents of the Municipal Home had been interred in the Pauper Cemetery between 1921 and 1965. The graves are marked with simple in-ground markers. The earliest grave markers were of concrete, while later tombstones were made from white marble and blue granite. The final burial, which occurred during the 1980’s, was in fact the re-interment of an infant who had originally been buried during the late 1950’s. The infant had been buried just outside the grave yard and decades later the remains were re-interred inside the Pauper Cemetery.

Source: City of Fredericton Historic Places Files, “York County Municipal Home Cemetery, 115 Jewett Street”

Character-Defining Elements

The character-defining elements identified for the York County Municipal Home Cemetery include:
- final resting place of York County paupers;
- manicured lawn and grounds;
- fenced enclosure;
- simple, in-ground grave markers;
- variety of tombstone materials, including concrete, white marble, and blue granite.