Bellefaire Orphanage
Encyclopedia
The Bellefaire Orphanage was a Jewish orphanage
in Cleveland Ohio
founded in 1868 as an orphanage for children who lost their parents in the Civil War
, making it one of the oldest orphanages in the US.
It was originally founded by Dr Seele as the Cleveland Water Cure Establishment in 1848. This "was a combination sanitarium and resort for the treatment of various ailments and diseases through hydropathy
" "enjoying regional popularity for nearly 2 decades", before being sold in 1868 to a national Jewish organisation, and initially being called the Jewish Orphan Asylum.
From 1868 to 1918, the Jewish Orphan Asylum "was the home for 3,581 mostly immigrant eastern European boys and girls. Established originally to serve orphaned and destitute Jewish youngsters from 15 midwestern and southern states", and "was located on over seven acres of land near Fifty-fifth Street and Woodland Avenue." In 1919, as part of the transformation to a more humane place to live, the name was changed to Jewish Orphan Home. "In 1929 the orphanage was relocated to a thirty-acre site in University Heights, an eastern suburb of Cleveland, where it was built as a cottage-type orphanage and renamed Bellefaire. Bellefaire continued as an orphanage for Jewish children until 1943, when it became a residential treatment center for emotionally disturbed children".
Orphanage
An orphanage is a residential institution devoted to the care of orphans – children whose parents are deceased or otherwise unable or unwilling to care for them...
in Cleveland Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
founded in 1868 as an orphanage for children who lost their parents in the Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
, making it one of the oldest orphanages in the US.
It was originally founded by Dr Seele as the Cleveland Water Cure Establishment in 1848. This "was a combination sanitarium and resort for the treatment of various ailments and diseases through hydropathy
Hydrotherapy
Hydrotherapy, formerly called hydropathy, involves the use of water for pain-relief and treating illness. The term hydrotherapy itself is synonymous with the term water cure as it was originally marketed by practitioners and promoters in the 19th century...
" "enjoying regional popularity for nearly 2 decades", before being sold in 1868 to a national Jewish organisation, and initially being called the Jewish Orphan Asylum.
From 1868 to 1918, the Jewish Orphan Asylum "was the home for 3,581 mostly immigrant eastern European boys and girls. Established originally to serve orphaned and destitute Jewish youngsters from 15 midwestern and southern states", and "was located on over seven acres of land near Fifty-fifth Street and Woodland Avenue." In 1919, as part of the transformation to a more humane place to live, the name was changed to Jewish Orphan Home. "In 1929 the orphanage was relocated to a thirty-acre site in University Heights, an eastern suburb of Cleveland, where it was built as a cottage-type orphanage and renamed Bellefaire. Bellefaire continued as an orphanage for Jewish children until 1943, when it became a residential treatment center for emotionally disturbed children".
Further reading
- Inside Looking out: The Cleveland Jewish Orphan Asylum, 1868–1924
- Edward Polster; Kent State University Press, 1990