Barium Springs Home For Children
Iredell County, Iredell County, North Carolina
Marker Inscription
Barium Springs Home For Children. Formerly Presbyterian Orphans Home. Opened here in 1891 by Synod of N.C. Jethro Rumple was first chair, Board of Regents.
Erected by North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources
The Story
In 1891 the Synod of North Carolina opened the Presbyterian Orphans' Home on this Iredell County site, part of a wave of church-founded orphanages that spread across the post-Reconstruction South to care for children left without parents. The Reverend Jethro Rumple, a prominent Presbyterian minister and historian, served as the first chairman of its Board of Regents. Later renamed Barium Springs Home for Children, the institution grew into a lasting refuge and school for generations of young people.
Why it matters
It reflects the central role churches played in building America's private social-welfare and childcare network long before the modern welfare state, a mission that endured for well over a century.
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Related people
- · Jethro Rumple
Themes & tags
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