In the mid-1800s, thousands of homeless children roamed the streets of New York City. To help deal with the orphaned children, Charles Loring Brace founded the Children’s Aid Society in 1853 to provide the basic needs for some of the children. In 1854, he sent a group of 46 children west, via steamboat and train, to find new homes with farm families. The train had one destination—Dowagiac. After they arrived, the children were examined by local residents, who then selected the orphans to take home. After several days, 37 of the children had been taken in by local families and the first trip was deemed a success. Because of the success of the 1854 trip to Dowagiac, the Orphan Train placed out over 200,000 children to almost every state in the nation until 1929.

Please join us at the North Berrien Historical Museum for “Wanted: Homes for Children – Dowagiac’s Orphan Train Story.” The program will be presented by Steve Arseneau, Director of the Dowagiac Area History Museum. No RSVP is required for this free program.