Welcome to the National Orphan Train Complex

Welcome to the National Orphan Train Complex. — Tours begin in the Morgan-Dowell Welcome Center —. , Welcome to Concordia, the Orphan Train Town! The National Orphan Train Complex (NOTC) includes the Orphan Train Museum located in the restored 1917 Union Pacific Depot, the Jones Education Station which houses our 1860s passenger car, and the Morgan-Dowell Welcome Center where tours begin., Orphan Train Statues are located in the NOTC courtyard and across Concordia and Cloud County. Each statue represents a real Orphan Train Rider and features a plaque that shares the Rider's story., What was the Orphan Train Movement? , Between 1854 and 1929 an estimated 250,000 orphaned, abandoned and homeless children were placed out during the Orphan Train Movement. Approximately 30 placing organizations sent children from New York City and other large cities to rural communities across the US and ten known countries., The Orphan Train Movement is one of the largest social reform relocation efforts in our nation's history and the beginning of documented foster care in America., Why were children relocated "out west?" , In 1854, the first group of children was sent out of New York by the Children's Aid Society (CAS) and the New York Juvenile Asylum. The founder of the CAS recognized that these children of the city needed more than an orphanage to call home. Foreign and domestic immigration to US cities, illness, unsafe work conditions, wars and poverty were just some of the issues that led to children being placed out in new homes across the United States., What is the impact of the Orphan Train Movement? , According to modern day research, one in twelve Americans is connected to an Orphan Train Rider. The NOTC hosts an annual Celebration of Orphan Train Riders which brings together descendants and the public to learn more about the Orphan Train Movement.