The Orphan Train Movement: A Tale of Charity, Controversy, and Lost Childhoods
In mid-19th century America, thousands of children found themselves living in squalor, deprived of the security and warmth of family life. Destitution and crime riddled urban centres, and the most vulnerable were often children. A revolutionary, albeit controversial, response to this crisis came in the form of the Orphan Trains. These "baby trains" or "mercy trains" began ferrying abandoned, orphaned, and impoverished children from overcrowded cities in the eastern United States to rural communities in the Midwest, where they were paraded before prospective foster families. The scheme promised a new start for these children, but for many, it was also a painful chapter in their lives.
The Origins of the Orphan Trains
The Orphan Train Movement emerged out of the grim realities of 19th century urban America. By the mid-1800s, cities like New York were overwhelmed by poverty, homelessness, and neglect. Charles Loring Brace, a Presbyterian minister, arrived in New York City in 1849 and witnessed firsthand the plight of children who had been abandoned by their families or orphaned by disease and poverty. Manhattan's Five Points district, infamous for its gang activity, had become a breeding ground for criminality and misery, with thousands of children living on the streets. Estimates suggest that by 1850, as many as 30,000 children were living in the streets and slums of New York alone.
Brace believed it was his religious and moral duty to “evangelise the poor.” In 1853, he founded the Children’s Aid Society (CAS), an organisation dedicated to addressing the needs of these street children. The society’s early efforts included providing Bible study, education, and shelter for boys, particularly through establishments such as the Newsboys’ Lodging House. Yet, despite these efforts, the numbers of homeless and vulnerable children continued to rise, and Brace sought a broader solution.
Brace's plan was simple in theory but ambitious in scale: relocate the children to rural areas, away from the dangers of city life, where they could be taken in by farm families who were in need of labour. It was a plan rooted in a mixture of philanthropy and practicality, but also steeped in the paternalistic notions of the time. Brace believed that the children, often referred to as “street rats,” would find better lives away from the crime and corruption of urban centres.
The result of Brace's vision was the Orphan Train Movement.
The First Orphan Train and Early Successes
The first official orphan train journey took place on October 1, 1854, carrying 45 children from New York City to Dowagiac, Michigan. The children were accompanied by E.P. Smith of the Children’s Aid Society, who presented them to the waiting audience with a mixture of practicality and salesmanship. He declared that the boys were “hard workers and very handy” and that the girls “could perform all types of housework.” The children were lined up, and one by one, they took to the stage, giving their names, singing songs, or reciting poems.
Within less than a week, all but eight of the children had been placed with families. Those eight remaining children were sent to Iowa City on another train, unaccompanied, where they were delivered to an orphanage run by Reverend C.C. Townsend. The reverend intended to place these children with farm families in need of labourers.
The apparent success of this first expedition encouraged Brace and others to continue the programme. Over the next 75 years, more than 250,000 children were transported across the United States, in a mass movement that stretched from 1854 to 1929. The states that received the most children included New York, Illinois, Ohio, Iowa, and Missouri, where the demand for farm labour was greatest.
The Orphan Train Process: Adoption or Exhibition?
The process of adoption through the orphan trains was, at best, rudimentary and, at worst, dehumanising. Posters and leaflets were distributed ahead of the trains' arrivals in towns, advertising the arrival of the “orphan trains” and the opportunity for families to adopt a child. Once the train arrived, children were gathered in a designated hall or public space, often referred to as the “place of distribution.”
Here, the children would be lined up and paraded in front of prospective foster parents. They might walk across a stage, reciting poems or singing songs, in a bid to endear themselves to the crowd. It was not uncommon for families to physically inspect the children, prodding them, checking their teeth, or feeling their muscles, much like livestock. Babies were the most desirable, and older children—especially those over 14—were difficult to place, as they were often considered too set in their ways or prone to bad habits. Children who were sickly or had physical or mental disabilities were nearly impossible to place.
A tragic consequence of this system was the separation of siblings. Though many children travelled together with brothers or sisters, families were not required to adopt more than one child. Consequently, siblings were frequently separated, often never to be reunited.
Controversy and Criticism: A Questionable "Solution"
While the orphan trains undoubtedly provided many children with the opportunity for a better life, the scheme was not without its critics and controversies. Though the intention was to provide these children with new homes and opportunities, in reality, the system had significant flaws.
One of the most significant issues was the treatment of the children. Although some found loving and supportive families, others were not so fortunate. Many of the children were taken in by families primarily seeking cheap labour for their farms. The distinction between adoption and indentured servitude was often blurred, and the children were frequently expected to work long hours in harsh conditions, with little consideration for their emotional and psychological well-being.
Moreover, many of the children who rode the orphan trains were not orphans in the strictest sense. At least 25% of the children had one or both living parents, who may have been unable to care for them due to economic hardship. In some cases, parents who believed their children would be placed in temporary care were horrified to find out that they had been sent away, often without consent.
The process also raised ethical concerns about child welfare and the consent of parents. Lawsuits appeared from parents whose children had been sent away without their knowledge, and abolitionist groups and child welfare advocates began to question the very premise of the orphan trains. They argued that the programme was a thinly veiled form of indentured servitude, disguised as charity.
Charles Loring Brace himself was not immune to these ethical dilemmas. As he reflected on the challenges of dealing with street children, he once remarked, “When a child of the streets stands before you in rags, with a tear-stained face, you cannot easily forget him. And yet, you are perplexed what to do. The human soul is difficult to interfere with. You hesitate how far you should go.” This quote, attributed to him by PBS, encapsulates the tension between the desire to help and the limitations of the methods available.
The End of an Era
The Orphan Train Movement continued until 1929, when it came to a halt due to the onset of the Great Depression. By this time, the U.S. government had introduced the foster care system, which provided a more regulated and structured approach to caring for displaced and orphaned children. The shift in public opinion, combined with growing concerns over child welfare, marked the end of the orphan trains as a viable solution.
By the time the last orphan train made its journey, the legacy of the movement was mixed. While many children were undoubtedly saved from the perils of street life, countless others endured lives of hardship, separation, and exploitation. The orphan trains remain a powerful chapter in the history of child welfare in the United States—a story of charity intertwined with controversy, and of lost childhoods seeking new beginnings.