The Orphan Train

From 1854 to 1929, hundreds of thousands of young children boarded trains in New York City, to be shipped west where they would find new families. Known as the Orphan Train, the program to relocate orphaned and abandoned children was operated largely by The Children's Aid Society and the New York Foundling Hospital.

This month, events at both ends of the Orphan Train route commemorate the relocation program. In Minnesota's Union Depot, a multimedia performance in early October presented historical fiction, interviews, images and music about the Orphan Trains. In New York's Grand Central Station,"Orphan Train, The Musical" directed by Patricia Birch will be performed on Oct. 11 and 12. Birch plans to travel across the country with the musical, performing at stops along the route to raise awareness for issues related to current-day foster care, early education and other youth issues.

Read on to see historical images from the exhibit in St. Paul and from the book, "Extra! Extra! The Orphan Trains and Newsboys of New York,"by Minnesota historian and author Renee Wendinger, whose mother was one of the children shipped west on an Orphan Train.

National Orphan Train Complex Museum and Research Center

Orphan Train riders, from the "Riders on the Orphan Train" multimedia performance at Union Depot in St. Paul, Minn.

More than 200,000 homeless children were sent west on the trains. It was the first emigration plan and largest mass migration of children ever in the United States.

012_New_York_children_trying_to_stay_warm_upon_steam_grates.jpg — Jacob Riis Collection/Courtesy Museum of the City of New York

Children trying to stay warm on a steam grate on Mulberry Street, New York City, 1890.

Poverty, disease, alcoholism, job competition and other urban problems of the day left many families in New York with little choice but to abandon their children to the streets.

Sophia (Kaminsky) Hillesheim, 4, arrived in Minneapolis, Minn. in 1917. Sophia was born in the Bronx and was relinquished to the New York Foundling Hospital as an infant. She was later adopted in Minnesota.

Hillesheim's daughter, Renee Wendinger, became a historian and author of the book "Extra! Extra! The Orphan Trains and Newsboys of New York."

Orphan Train riders, from the "Riders on the Orphan Train" multimedia performance at Union Depot in St. Paul, Minn.

An Orphan Train rider, from the "Riders on the Orphan Train" multimedia performance at Union Depot in St. Paul, Minn.

003_ALHI026_(2).jpg — National Orphan Train Complex Museum and Research Center

Orphan Train riders, from the "Riders on the Orphan Train" multimedia performance at Union Depot in St. Paul, Minn.

Kids under the care of the Children's Aid Society prepare for their trip our west.

Children ready to board an orphan train in New York.

Children with train agents from the Children's Aid Society

010_Clothing_worn_by_orphan_train_rider_Agnes_Chambers_aboard_her_train_journey_West_in_1916.jpg — Courtesy The Orphan Trains and Newsboys of New York

Clothing worn by Orphan Train rider Agnes Chambers during her journey west in 1916.

013_Newsflyer_announcing_the_need_for_family_homes_across_America.jpg — Courtesy The Orphan Trains and Newsboys of New York

A flyer announcing the need for family homes across the U.S.

A 1904 orphan train departing for Texas.

Orphan Train rider Carmella (Caputo) Keaveny arrived in Tintah, Minn. in 1914.

016_Women_in_the_west_greeting_an_orphan_train._Date_and_place_unknown.jpg — Courtesy The Orphan Trains and Newsboys of New York

Women in the western U.S. greet an orphan train.

1913 Orphan Train rider William Willams (born William Sand) and 1914 Orphan Train rider Emily (Repaski) Sand/Taylor, arrived in St. Cloud, Minn.

Agnes Marie Patnode, or "Pat," born Agnes Chambers on March 1, 1916 in New York, arrived in Crookston, Minn. in 1918. She was adopted by Harmidas Patnode and Alphonsine (emard) Patnode of Red Lake Falls and grew up to become a school teacher and mother of eight.

019_Rare_photo_of_a_child_received_off_an_orphan_train_in_Louisiana_wearing_ribbon_and_tag_number.jpg — The New Orleans Dominican Sisters Collection

Sarah Hunt recently taken off an orphan train.

020_Sister_of_Charity_receiving_a_found_infant_from_local_police.jpg — Courtesy The Orphan Trains and Newsboys of New York

A Sister of Charity receiving a found infant from police.

Orphan Train riders, from the "Riders on the Orphan Train" multimedia performance at Union Depot in St. Paul, Minn.

An Orphan Train headed to Kansas