In the. 19th and early 20th centuries, economic issues all across the country had cities counties and even states looking for a remedy to deal with families and individuals stricken by poverty.
In the late 1800s, poor farms and poorhouses had become the norm with thousands of those institutions, usually in more rural areas, springing up in order to meet the needs of the needy.
Although poor farms and poorhouses are remembered today as a place where indigent members of our society could gather together in a work collective atmosphere, the stark reality is the system was designed to keep the "haves" and the "have nots" separated in most communities
Arkansas, in general, and Fort Smith in particular, were not immune to the almost caste-like system that sent society's undesirables to a place where they could all live, and eventually die, together. During the period of time addressed, there were actually three poor farms in Sebastian County.
In Fort smith, the poor farm was known as Elmwood, an approximate 120-acre plot situated approximately four miles from the heart of the frontier town of Fort Smith. Not really considered an important part of local government and not a topic of a general interest to be openly discussed among proper society, the Elmwood poor farm existed to serve the needs of the less fortunate and to keep those individuals "out of sight and out of mind".
However, hundreds of families, with little or no aspects of pulling themselves out of their economic situation, found themselves shuffled off to these communities. While records are scarce of the actual physical layout of the Elmwood poor farm, enough can be gleaned by all newspaper articles and research into land records during that time to at least piece together an overall snapshot of the situation.
It does appear that no one was ever "forced" to go to the poor farm. The idea, not only locally but nationally, was to allow people to come together in an effort to combine their resources and talents in an effort to make a better place to live for them and their families. Elmwood appears to have been, for the most part, a self-sustaining community with 90% of the economy based around agricultural concerns.
It's estimated that Elmwood was established and populated sometime in the early 1890's. One interesting aspect of the poor farm system, at least when it came to Fort smith, was that people of different races and cultures all seem to live and work together for the common good.
This was less than 30 years after the end of the civil war, and while old prejudices and discrimination still existed, it appears like the most people in the poor House system were too hungry or tired from working to continue to hang on to the then almost totally segregated aspects of society.
At least one historical reference mentions a school at Elmwood which was probably a collective effort on the part of the women of the community to see that their children get at least the rudiments of an education.
As the size of the community ebbed and flowed over the years, people lived, and people died. When the first poor farm occupant died after the establishment of the community in 1891, 80-year-old S. B. Williams, he was buried in a solitary grave on the northern and of the property.
Over the next five decades, it's estimated that almost 1000 people were buried in the same location. There are approximately 954 graves at the cemetery, with only seven being identified and marked by granite or fieldstone headstones.
There is an amazing database of the names of individuals thought to be buried there, compiled by Richard Meador and archived on the ARGen Sebastian County website. You can access that list by clicking HERE.
It is believed that, at one time, all the graves were marked by wooden headstones. Records show that over one-third of the burials took place during a ten-year period beginning with the opening of the cemetery.
The 1891 burial of S. B. Williams was the first known burial, and the last is believed to be that of two-week-old infant Charles Kramer in 1948. It is not known exactly when the poor farm ceased using the cemetery.
The cemetery, as seemingly the community, was not restricted by race. At least three African Americans, who are identified as “unknown Negroes,” are buried there.
In 1990, a drainage ditch was dug through the southwestern part of the cemetery, necessitating the removal of seventy graves. The remains from those graves were reinterred in the southwestern section of the Oak Cemetery on S. Greenwood Avenue in Fort Smith.
Local funeral homes handled most of the deaths out of Elmwood. The majority of those that passed away over the years were cremated and placed in the small wooden boxes that were buried on the site.
Eventually as the economic situation got better for a lot of people, they departed Elmwood and all that's left behind in the legacy of the community is a 30-acre lot located on the south side of Zero Street in Fort Smith.
Thousands of people passed by the spot every week in their automobiles, very few knowing the seemingly vacant lot they observe across the street from the Aldi's Supermarket is not only a cemetery that still contains numerous graves, but also a spot that is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Oral tradition maintains the lower income housing development that once existed on the site of the now-Martin Luther King Park on Greenwood Road that was called "Elm Grove" was a name generationally assigned to that project by former residents of Elmwood.
There is nothing left behind that shows evidence of a community one existed on the land , and little that indicates a cemetery for that matter. A recent stroll and inspection of the property revealed seven headstones remaining of the hundreds that once dotted the potter's field.
There is a sign dedicated to a "Sebastian County Scatter Garden" that was put into place by then County Judge David Hudson in 2019 but it really makes no reference to the Elmwood community, its history, or even the cemetery except for a short poem on a three- and-a half-foot stone tablet.
Near the front of the property there are two barren signpost with no sign indicating the presence of the old cemetery.
One of the puzzling things over the years has been why such a desirable piece of property, that could be used for retail, restaurants, or other venues has gone unscathed as a city of Fort Smith is continued to grow?
The reason is simple. While a large number of graves were relocated to accommodate the flood control drainage ditch cut through the property, the cost alone of the massive relocation and recovery of the remains that are still buried in the hallowed grounds would be astronomical for any company that sought to develop the land.
In addition, any development project that starts with the phrase "we must relocate human remains" is generally not well accepted by the public.
Historical records indicate the land was purchased in 1880 by Sebastian county for $8,000. To this day, it seems the land remains in the hands of the county and remains their responsibility.
The site is well maintained, tended to on a year-round basis and today is bordered by Zero Street on the north, the drainage ditch to the West, Evans Boys and Girls Club to the South, and a bank building to the east.
So the next time you're making your way down zero Street on your way to Walmart, US Highway 71 to go to greenwood, or on a family excursion to Parrot Island, take a quick glance to your right as you pass this almost forgotten Stone Garden and pay your respects to those who repose there.
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