Tag Archives: kansas

Orphan Train Complex Museum

On our way to Utah in the fall of 2020, we added a side trip to the The Orphan Train Complex Museum in Concordia, Kansas.

Cindy had read the book Orphan Train by Christina Baker Kline and was intrigued by the story of New York City orphans being loaded on trains west to be adopted. The Kline book wasn’t very complementary about the situation. Between 1854 and 1929 an estimated 250,000 orphaned, abandoned and homeless children were placed in new homes.
Before we toured the complex we learned from a docent that the Kline book wasn’t historically accurate and sensationalized the situation. In real life the orphans were watched over by placement agents who screened prospective adoptee homes and did follow up visits. That’s not to say that the orphans were all happy about the situation. The museum has letters and histories of both successful and not successful placements.

Advertisement for the Orphan Train
Advertisement for the Orphan Train.
An Orphan Train stopped in a town
An Orphan Train visits a town.
typical Orphan Train rail car
A typical train car as would have been used for an Orphan Train.
The Orphan Train Complex Museum in Concordia, Kansas
The Orphan Train Complex Museum in Concordia, Kansas
Concordia, Kansas Orphan Train statues
Scattered around Concordia, Kansas are statues of the children who rode the orphan train.