A Home in the Country: The Story of St. Michael’s Orphan Asylum & Industrial School

by Jack Koeppel, Hopewell Valley Historical Society
Presentation for the Hopewell Public Library, September 28, 2016

This is a video of a presentation on the history of St. Michael's Orphanage given by local historian, Jack Koeppel.  Mr. Koeppel used images from the past along with stories and facts about St Michael's to help attendees develop a better understanding of the property’s past, present and future.

As the 19th century came to a close many of the issues facing the new nation had been dealt with. America had become a world power and the county now stretched “from sea to shining sea”. As the cities grew, and the population increased by leaps and bounds, the problem of orphaned and children from troubled homes became an important social issue across the l and. The Catholic Church stepped to the forefront of the matter and adopted the concept a large orphanages to house, educate and prepare these unfortunate children for adult life.  St Michael’s Orphanage and Industrial School was built to address the problem locally.

Links:
- Hopewell Public Library [redlibrary.org]
- Hopewell Valley Historical Society [hopewellvalleyhistory.org]
  (See Local History section - Index of Stories for written history.)
- Video by Brian Dixon [bcdixon.com]