Iowa Soldiers' Orphans' Home/Site of Camp Roberts - Davenport, Iowa
Posted by: Hikenutty
N 41° 32.822 W 090° 33.139
15T E 704150 N 4602378
The Iowa Soldiers' Orphans' Home was founded by Annie Wittenmyer as a place to care for orphans of the Civil War. The orphanage was founded on the site of Camp Roberts, a Civil War camp.
Waymark Code: WM1Z4A
Location: Iowa, United States
Date Posted: 08/06/2007
Views: 79
The following excerpt is taken from "Iowa: A Guide to the Hawkeye State":
IOWA SOLDIERS' ORPHANS' HOME, 2800 Eastern Ave., was
originally organized to care for the orphans of Civil War soldiers. The
first group of 150 children orphaned by the war, arrived in Davenport on
November 16, 1865, by steamer. A staff of 63 people, including four
doctors, now take care of 500 dependent or neglected children, among
whom are about 100 who are orphans of World War soldiers. One of the
buildings is named for Mrs. Annie Wittenmyer, who started and directed
the movement for an orphans' home in fulfillment of promises made to
many dying soldiers. There are 26 buildings which include a number of
cottage-dormitories, barns, a silo, a hospital, and school buildings. The
latter are utilitarian in style. At the immediate right of the entrance a
cement marker indicates the SITE OF CAMP ROBERTS, later known as
Camp Kinsman, a training camp for soldiers of the Civil War.
Iowa Soldiers' Orphans' Home, also known as the Annie Wittenmyer Home, housed more than 12,000 orphans during its years of operation. It opened in 1865 and ran continuously until it was closed in the 1970s. Some of the historic buildings in the complex have been torn down and newer buildings built, but after it became City property, efforts were made to get the remaining buildings on the Historic Register. The buildings currently house a public library and various community outreach groups. The complex was placed in the National Historic Register in 1982.
The marker telling of the Civil War camp, placed in 1929 by the local D.A.R. chapter, is still there in front of the Annie Wittenmyer building, as it was in 1941 when the guide was written.
Book: Iowa
Page Number(s) of Excerpt: 224
Year Originally Published: 1941
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