Charleston Orphan House


Charleston Orphan House, the first public orphanage in the United States, was an orphanage in Charleston, South Carolina from 1790 to 1951.

History

The Charleston Orphan House was established in 1790 by Charleston's city council as the first public orphanage in the United States. The council rented a house on Market Street from 1790 until construction on the orphan house building was complete in 1794. The orphanage was within Calhoun, King, Vanderhorst, and St. Phillips Streets.
Before the Orphan House was established, St. Phillip's and St. Michael's parishes provided for destitute children. They ordered men who abandoned their families to pay child support and paid women to care for young children who did not have families. When Charleston was incorporated in 1783, the city had to take on the burden of caring for these children. The city hoped establishing an orphanage as a centralized site of care would save on expenses.
By 1861, the Orphan House was staffed by 39 employees who cared for 360 children. Residents of the Orphan House were often poor white children with living parents who could not afford to care for them. Orphan House children typically received a few years of school before being hired out as apprentices, farmers, or domestic servants.
In 1951, the children were moved to a new site called Oak Grove Plantation in North Charleston.

Architecture

Gentleman architect Gabriel Manigault designed the orphan house's chapel in 1802. Architects Jones and Lee remodeled and enlarged the building in the 1850s. The building was demolished in 1956 to build a Sears Department Store and later the College of Charleston's Joe E. Berry dormitory.

Notable alumni

Andrew Buist Murray and Christopher Memminger