Now Digitized: The Charleston Orphan House Survey, 1948

View our newly digitized item in collaboration with the Lowcountry Digital Library here!

The 1948 Report of Survey of Charleston Orphan House, Charleston, South Carolina prepared by the Child Welfare League of America provides invaluable information on this historic institution. The City commissioned this report in 1947 to improve the organization and reflect the professionalization of social work in the 20th century.

Established as the nation's first municipal orphanage in 1790, the Charleston Orphan House opened on present-day Calhoun Street in 1794. The orphanage was a pioneering childcare and education institution for local white children whose parents could not support them. The organization's commissioners governing body, the Orphan House Commission, was elected annually by City Council. The Commission managed annual municipal appropriations, investments, and charitable donations. The work of running the institution and caring for the children was undertaken by paid and enslaved staff that included cooks, maids, matrons, teachers, and later, social workers.

The Child Welfare League of America (CWL) was established in 1920 and is the oldest child welfare organization in the country. CWL is responsible for assessing orphanages, regulating foster care and adoptions, and political lobbying for child welfare.

In 1951, following the suggestions of the CWL's survey, the Orphan House announced its relocation to Oak Grove Child Care Center, a cottage-style institution in North Charleston.

In 1978, the organization ceased to be a municipal orphanage and became a nonprofit called Carolina Youth Development Center. Recently in 2023, they renamed again to Landmarks for Families, where their mission is "To cultivate thriving children and families."

With this survey, one can glimpse at life at the Charleston Orphan House during the 1940s and learn about the evolution of institutional childcare in America. For more information, the City of Charleston has additional Orphan House records that can be viewed here. The Charleston County Public Library also holds records from the Charleston Orphan House as seen here.