Iowa Soldiers' Orphans' Home

About this property

The Iowa Soldiers' Orphans' Home, also known at the Annie Wittenmyer Home or the Annie Wittenmyer Center, located in Davenport, Iowa, is a former orphanage. The home was originally used for orphans from the American Civil War. Starting in 1876, children from broken homes, as well as orphans from all of Iowa's 99 counties, were taken in at the home. It is listed on the Davenport Register of Historic Properties and as a historic district on the National Register of Historic Places. Annie Turner Wittenmyer was a sanitation agent for Iowa whose job was to oversee the needs of Union Army soldiers during the American Civil War. Iowa contributed approximately 76,000 men to the army, and one of them wrote a letter saying, We are grateful for all the kindness shown us ... but we prefer you should forget us ... if you will but look after our wives and children, our mothers and sisters, who are dependent upon us for support ... Succor them, and hold your charity from us. The letter was read at a convention, after which a board was convened to create a residence for the orphans of Iowa soldiers. Wittenmyer, a trustee and board member, managed to raise money for the construction of the home with some donations reaching $500 ($6900 in 2010 dollars). The location had been a meeting area and treatment center for the pioneers, settlers, and the indigenous peoples of the region, including War Chief Black Hawk and the Sauk, Fox, Kickapoo, Potawatomi, and Winnebago tribes. The land was also a center for the war wounded from the Mexican-American War, which included the housing and care of the long-term casualties. The residents kept a small farm and were taught to farm by German-Danish immigrant Claus Einfeldt. After the Civil War ended, over 13,500 children were in need of assistance as a result of the war deaths of Iowans—with many more badly wounded. An orphan's fair was held asking branches be built in three different Iowa cities and Farmington was soon considered inadequate to the Davenport home. Davenport was a center for Union volunteer units, and after the war ended, soldier camps were not needed. Camp Kinsman (on present-day Eastern Avenue) was donated to be used for the home. On November 11, 1865, the Iowa Soldiers' Orphans' Home received its first occupants by steamboat, when 150 children were delivered to matron Annie Wittenmyer's care. The residents kept a small farm and were also taught to farm by German-Danish immigrant Claus Einfeldt. On June 6, 1866, the home was taken over by the State of Iowa and Wittenmyer continued to oversee the home until 1867. Eventually, the Civil War orphans were grown and left the home. From 1870, the home began to accept children from all Iowa 99 counties.

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Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).

Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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