Nevada Children’s Home
Carson City, Carson City, Nevada
Marker Inscription
Nevada Children’s Home. The Nevada Orphans’ Asylum, a privately funded institution, was opened in Virginia City in 1864 by the Daughters of Charity. By 1870, most of its functions were taken over by the Nevada State Orphans’ Home at Carson City, authorized in 1869 by the legislature and constructed on this site. The first child was admitted October 28, 1870.In 1903, the first building gave way to a larger one, constructed of sandstone from the state prison quarry east of Carson City. This edifice served until 1963 as Nevada’s home for dependent and neglected children. In 1951, its name was changed to the Nevada State Children’s Home. The stone building was in turn replaced in 1963, in accordance with the modern concept of family-sized groups housed in cottages. The facility closed in 1992.
Erected by Commemorating A Century Of State Service To Thechildren Of Nevadacarson City Historical Commission
The Story
Nevada's care for orphaned children began in 1864 when the Daughters of Charity opened the Nevada Orphans' Asylum in Virginia City. The state took over most of that work with the Nevada State Orphans' Home, authorized in 1869 and built on this Carson City site, admitting its first child in 1870. A larger sandstone building from the state prison quarry replaced it in 1903, and the institution—renamed the Nevada State Children's Home in 1951—served dependent children until modern cottage-style care and, eventually, its 1992 closure.
Why it matters
The home charts the evolution of American child welfare from private religious charity to state responsibility and finally to modern family-style care.
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Related people
- · Daughters of Charity
Themes & tags
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