Civil War Orphans' Home

Civil War Orphans' Home. . , (front:), The ravages of the American Civil War (1861-1865) left a large population of orphaned and half-orphaned children roaming the countryside in need of homes. Springfield was fortunate to have a civic-minded citizen named Mary Whitney Phelps, wife of the future governor of Missouri, John S. Phelps. Mary, also an orphan, championed these children - who were housed in several locations in the county, including the Phelps residence and later the home of Louisa Campbell, the widow of Springfield's founder, John Polk Campbell. A locally-formed Orphans' Home Association actively sought donations of food, clothing and financial support. , The United States Congress recognized Mrs. Phelps' advocacy for these orphans on July 28, 1866, with the adoption of the following resolution: "That there be paid to Mrs. Mary Phelps, of Missouri…the sum of twenty-thousand dollars to reimburse her for expenditures made in behalf of the soldiers of the Union wounded in battle, and of the orphan children of soldiers of the Union." This money would hep fund a new orphans' home. , (back:), By 1868, a two-story frame building was completed on 27 acres. The site was part of a tract of land formerly owned by Leonidas Campbell (son of Springfield's founder). This tract was bounded by present-day Kimbrough Ave. on the east; Sunshine St., in the south; and Campbell Ave. on the west. , The Mary Phelps Institute for Young Ladies was located 1 1/2 miles south of the city of Springfield and served orphans, half-orphans, and indigent girls. The school was not to make money but to provide a service. As much as possible, matrons filled the role of a mother. , The facility functioned until there was no longer a need.