History of the Orphan Train

       I was walking back to 5th Street to check that my sisters, Jenny and Gretel, weren’t taken to an orphanage by a placing agent. I have been taking care of them for a month now, everyone I know thinks we have a mother. Nobody knew Jenny or Gretel. I turned onto 4th Street and saw a group of people crowding over a flyer. I ran to see what was happening. It was about a new “Orphan Train” coming to the city to pick up orphans. It also said at the bottom that policemen were going to search every corner of New York City looking for any orphans in sight. I realized that Jenny,Gretel, and I were in deep trouble.

It all started when Charles Loring Brace realized that the orphaned children living on the streets needed a place to live. He decided that the best way would be to found the agency called The Children’s Aid Society. This society put children in orphanages,
but soon, the orphanages became overcrowded and they needed a new solution. The Children’s Aid Society used a few cars at the end of trains, and took the orphans all over the country to find a new home. This was called The Orphan Train Movement. Later, another agency was founded called Sisters For Charity. This agency was dedicated to providing orphans with a happy home, much like The Children’s Aid Society. During the 1920’s, fewer children rode the train, sometimes as few as ten per trip. This was when the orphan trains ended their rounds.