First a few words about Potash Corner and how it may have received its name.  The term Potash refers to a variety of minerals which contain  the element potassium in a water soluble form.  The early settlers recognized the benefits of potassium both in gardening and as an ingredient  for making soap.  Its presence in the soil is a contributor to healthy plants and larger yields.  Potash can be found in natural deposits; it is also a by-product of burning plant material such as wood.  Thinking about it, every early New England home  with their  huge chimneys and fireplaces in each room had a ready source of potash.

Back to the naming of Potash Corner. The name may have been the result of natural deposits of potash and the early farmers had developed  a method of removing the potassium by soaking in water.  It is also possible that the corner had become a central location to deposit excess wood ash and thus sharing the potash with others – like a community compost pile for potassium.  It is also possible that some combination of both these events lead to the naming of potash corner.  Whatever the origin, the name survived and still remains on many of the maps of Hudson.

A small burying place, containing almost 3/4 acre, called Senter Cemetery or Senter Yard,  was first located in the south west corner of Londonderry at Potash Corner.  Likely set off from the Senter Farm from which it was named.  Lookng at the names and dates on the inscriptions one can see it was used a burying place for Londonderry residents several years before the annexation to Nottingham West (now Hudson) in 1778.

We do not know the date this yard was first used for burials.  From the inscriptions recorded by Kimball Webster in 1908 the oldest date found was upon a rough stone marked E.L. K.I.D. Feb. 24, 1759 which probably stands for Kidder.  The next to the oldest is the marker for Jean Senter, wife of John Senter, died Jul 10, 1765.  John and Jean Senter were the grand-parents of Deacon Thomas Senter.  If John Senter was laid to rest along side his wife his marker, along with many other, have long since been destroyed or disappeared.  In 1995 the descendants of John and Jean Senter placed a memorial marker at the cemetery in their memory.

At some early point in time the yard was enclosed within a respectable stone wall.   As time passed and interest in the upkeep of the cemetery waned, the wall fell to disrepair and fell down is some places.  Cattle could enter at will from adjoining pastures and the grounds became so covered with brush that the cemetery’s appearance  was not a credit to the Town of Hudson.  In 1897 the selectmen of Hudson caused the walls to be repaired and an iron gate erected.  About the same time the brush was removed and the appearance of the yard was improved.

Within this cemetery the surnames most frequently found are Andrews, Farley, Greeley, Hobbs, Kidder, and Senter.  A large number of grave sites in this cemetery are not marked with head stones and inscriptions.  Some of these sites may have never been marked; for the others the markers have long since been removed or destroyed.

For the past several years the Senter Cemetery has been maintained in excellent condition by the Hudson Highway Department.  A few years back the  original iron gate  was replaced  by the Town Cemetery Trustees and Anger Welding.  These photos  ware taken by the author in August 2017.