The Gordon Children’s Home in Shelbyville, Indiana was finished in 1892 in order to provide a home for orphaned children in Shelby County, Indiana. At the time, the home was located on a hill on the outskirts of town.
Vintage post card showing the home
Following is a portion of the Gordon Home’s Annual Report from 1902.
The health of the institution during the past year has been good, with three exceptions. One of our children had inflammatory rheumatism, one lung fever and one case of typhoid.
We desire to thank all those who assisted us in donating presents for our Christmas tree. Our children lok forward from one year to the next and think of te happy times they will have when Old Santa comes again.
Number of of children received in our home during the year, girls 1, boys 5.
Number placed in homes 20, girls 8, boys 12.
Number sent to Ft. Wayne institute for feeble minded 4.
Removed by death 0.
Number remaining in the home 34, girls 7, boys 27.
In Forest Hill Cemetery in Shelbyville you will find a simple stone monument with the inscription GORDON’S CHILDREN’S HOME and dates 1887 – 1958. Behind and in front of the stone are two lines of small headstones listing the names of children who died at the orphanage. Someone has placed small toys on several of the stones.
Roadtirement 
Interesting place.
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Thanks, Tim
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This has me wonder what happened to these children. Sad…
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There are just sparse records of how the kids died, or what they did as adults. It was tough being an orphan, that is sure.
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Interesting story–thanks for sharing.
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Glad you enjoyed! (We love this kind of stuff)
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I’ve never heard of this home. Thank you for sharing.
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Gordon’s Children’s Home did not have the coverage at the time that some of the ones in Indy had. It was important in Shelbyville though. There’s lots of coverage in the (then) two Shelbyville newspapers, The Democrat and The Republican. (True!)
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It seems obvious that it was easier to place girls in homes (where they could presumably make themselves useful) than boys.
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Lots of thigs were different “back then” weren’t they? Thanks Suzanne for sharing with us.
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A sad, touching story.
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It is, JC. Thank you.
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It’s sad to think that those little ones died alone in an orphanage. But it’s nice to know that some toys have been left there. Someone remembers them, I guess.
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Someone is remembering, a good thing. Those little ones had a rough go.
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A sad necessity, no doubt
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Thank you for sharing… so sad!
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It is sad. Thanks for your comment.
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I enjoyed coming across this article. My great grandmother was Mary Walker, the superintendent of the home from 1942 until it closed in 1958. Thank you for keeping the memory of this place alive!
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Thank you for sharing a piece of your family background. We appreciate your visit and comment.
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Thank you for sharing. Della Redman was my grandfather’s sister. They and their two mothers were placed in the orphanage after the death of their mother.
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Nora thank you so much for sharing!
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