| A BRIEF HISTORY of BEAVER COUNTY CHILDREN'S HOME On December 10th, 1908 ten women met in Beaver Falls to address the problem of neglected, dependent and homeless children of the county. At the time there was no facility to care for them in Beaver County. A second meeting took place on January, 8th 1909. The meeting resulted in a charter and incorporation of Beaver County Children's Home with approval by the state of Pennsylvania. The home would be overseen by twenty-four directors all women and fifteen trustees all men. The final organization was effected on April 19th when the bylaws were agreed upon and a president ( Annie F. Brown ), four vice presidents, a secretary, assistant secretary and treasurer we affected. A funding campaign was the next order of business to fund the residence. It was agreed that New Brighton would be the most practical location for the home. A location known as the Scott place ( location unknown at this time - postcard picture below is believed to be the Scott place ) was chosen and leased from a Mr. J. W. Carr. On July 15th, 1909 after great community effort Beaver County Children's home was set to open it's doors. The house would be able to accommodate twenty-five to thirty children. A Miss Mattie Burt, of Milwaukee had been hired as the first matron. The first child took residence August 1st. ( name unknown at this time ) By 1912 the Scott place could no longer serve as the residence and a location was purchased on Penn Avenue. The location served until 1924. The present building at 615 Penn Avenue was erected in 1925. Architects drawing is shown on the bottom of this page. The 615 Penn address housed as many as sixty children at a time. Through the years the home thrived with great support from the town and county communities. Though the children were housed at the location they went to the local schools and played on local team sports and activities. As the 70's arrived the home began a gradual decline with a series of administration, staff and child behavior problems. By 1982 the facility lost it's mandate to operate as a youth facility and closed it's doors as a children's home. The building now operates as a day care facility and restaurant. |
