‘Orphan Train’ talk at Aurora history center Sunday

Submitted by Aurora Historical Society

Carol Chandler of the Lee County Genealogical Society will speak on “The Orphan Trains: The History and Human Side of the Story.” The event will be at 2 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 19 at the Pierce Art and History Center in downtown Aurora. The Orphan Train movement was a social experiment during the period 1854-1929, when the rural life was romanticized and Americans thought that orphaned, abandoned or homeless children from the city streets of the East should be taken away to start a new life and help settle the country in wholesome, religious homes in the Midwest.

More than 200,000 children rode an “Orphan Train” to new lives. Today the Orphan Train movement is seen as the forerunner of modern-day foster care and general information can be found at the website National Orphan Train Complex, www.orphantraindepot.com. Chandler has researched more than 200 children who arrived in northwestern Illinois during that period. Special guest at the lecture will be Aurora author Jo Fredell Higgins whose recent novel, “A Song For Cecilia,” is built upon the life of a fictional Orphan Train child. Copies of her book will be available for sale.

The event is at Pierce Art and History Center, 20 E. Downer Place, Aurora. Park across the street in the free parking deck at Stolp Avenue and Downer Place. Use Stolp Avenue entrance. During bridge work, the deck is best accessed from Benton Street which is temporarily two-way traffic. Be sure to have your ticket stamped in the gift shop for free parking. It is usually $5 and $3 for members.

The cost of the lecture is $5 per person, but for Aurora Historical Society members, it is $3. Ticket sales at the door only. More information about the event is at www.aurorahistory.net.