In 1862 the Civil War lurched into its second year. Va. The war had started in May 1861 with both sides fielding armies that, combined, totaled about 42,000 men. No one had expected the fighting to last this long, grow this large, or cost this much in money or men.
Orphans are a forgotten casualty of war, earning neither medals nor monuments.
But in March 1862 they gained the attention of some Wilkes-Barre area women who formed what news accounts called the Home for Friendless Children. The home, intended for those left fatherless because of war, was the precursor to the Children's Service Center of Wyoming Valley Inc., a nonprofit children's mental health center. The idea of an orphanage sprang from a meeting of several women, one of whom had helped establish a similar home in Lancaster. One woman's husband provided a house on South Street, free of charge. In 1863 the minutes reported the home had sheltered 47 children since opening, with 22 living there at the time, taxing the small building's resources to the maximum.