Evening capital journal. (Salem, Or.) 1888-1893, 1888-05-18
LOCAL And GENERAL NEWS.
Itenized Account Of DOings in City and
Country.
THE ORPHANS HOME.
A Fine Public Institution. The New
Building. A Noble Work.

north of the Oregon asylum for the
insane, handsome frame structure
has been built during the past year,
which stands there to-day as a mon
ument to a number of the noble la
dies of Salem. This building occu-
pies a plat of ground consisting of
fifteen acres, and is the new home
for orphans, erected by the Oregon
Children's Aid Society.
This society was organized in 1866.
Its organization came about through
the donation of ten acres of this
tract by Mrs. Elizabeth Parrish,
first wife of Rev. j. l.. Parrish,
which was made provided the soci-
ETY. would erect a building for a
home for orphan children, right
away. Mrs. Parrish, Mrs. V. L.
Moores, Mrs. H. T. Clarke, and
Julia A. Smith accordingly incorpo-
rated the Oregon Children's Aid So
ciety in September 1866, and began
to receive subscriptions to the fund
for the erection of the building on
October 4, 1866, Mrs. Alfred Stanton
and Mrs. j. S. Smith each giving
S1.O0 on that date to the fund. Dur
ing the fiscal year 1868, '69 the house
was completed and furnished, and
by October 1869, one child was being
cared for by the home, and seven
more applications had been received.
Since that time, the society have
had the care, at different times, of a
great many orphan children, and
during the past few years, the old
building has become totally made
quate to the demands made upon
the society. The legislature of the
state has for several years given the
society an annual appropriation of
$1,000 to aid in support of the
institution, and after repeated re-
quests, the last assembly of that
body made further appropriation
of$2OOO to aid in the erection of the
new building. While this amount
was small, yet twas large enough
to materially assist the members of
thesociety in this work.
In many ways, by the practice of
rigid economy, donations, ETC., the
building fund was swelled to an
amount in excess of $4,000, and the
present handsome structure was
erected at a cost of between $4,000, |
and S8400. A reporter of the CAP
ITAL JOURNAL accepted the kind
invitation of some of the ladies of
the society this morning, and spent
an hour or more in visiting this
institution. He found Mrs. DIR.
Shelton, a very capable and estima-
ble lady, in charge as matron, and
she very kindly took him all over
the building. The structure is of
the Queen Anne style of architecture,
two and half stories above the
basement, and 66 feet front by SO
feet deep. A broad verandah
reaches across the entire front, and
around part of the west side of the
building. Entering at the broad
double doors, one is shown through
Il wide hall into a cosy parlor or
reception room, furnished very
neatly, with nice carpets, and good
furniture. From this room, the
matron led the writer through two
large, handsome, well lighted, airy
rOOms-the first her own room, and
the second, connected with the
matron's by sliding doors, the girls
domitory. In this are several beds,
all neat and clean, and in no wise
"huddled." Passing from this
room, we enter a back hall that
leads into the bat th-room, and girls
wardrobe In this closet, each girl
has shelf, with her name on, and
each keeps her clothes separate from
the others. Connected with like
hall on the other side of the build
ing, is the boys bathroom and
wardrobe. From these halls, a stair
way leads to the basement, and a
ioor opens to a back porch on either
side Of the building.
A large room in the northwest
corner of the building was finished
'or boys playroom, but it is now ]
being used as a boys dOrmitOry.
The room upstairs, that was inten-
led for this purpose, has ibeen used
Turing the recent siege of sickness
measles, etc., aud a pretty hard !
iege it was, lasting for several
weeks, as a hospital, and sick room. :
This is the only room on the second
ioOr that is finished, as yet, but it is J
expected that the next Legislature /
1-fII 49,. l. Z. 80, ~ .fo,,tIxr Ioroa or,rro