If you have never visited the Louisiana Orphan Train Museum, located in Opelousas, you have missed an important part of state history.
Martha Aubert, president of the Louisiana Orphan Train Museum, and other workers will travel to Many on Tuesday, July 29 to tell local residents about the orphan train.
The presentation will include a short video, displays and interesting information about the true stories who made the trip from New York City to Opelousas on the train in the 1900s.
Dressed in authentic costumes, the ladies and will tell the stories of the children who rode the orphan train.
The New York Foundling Hospital was founded in 1869 by Sister Irene Fitzgibbons. She had a vision, while sick with cholera, and promised God if she was spared she would be devoted to his service. Later, she joined the Sisters of Charity Order and opened an orphanage, thanks to the patronage of local ladies of wealth.
An increasing number of orphaned children were taken into homes, but many more roamed the streets. In the spring of 1907, three trains arrived in Opelousas with children from the New York Foundling Hospital.
The requirements of the Sisters of Charity were that the child be raised in the Catholic faith.
Each orphan wore a tag and identification number. Each prospective parent read the corresponding number to the assigned child. Many of the children were not adopted, but indentured.
Displays will fill the fellowship hall and brings the interesting story to life.
The program is free to the public and sponsored by the Sabine Parish Library.