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Vasa Children's Home

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Coordinates: 44°34′1″N 92°38′7″W / 44.56694°N 92.63528°W / 44.56694; -92.63528
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Vasa Children's Home was the oldest orphanage in the U.S. state of Minnesota. It was founded by Eric Norelius in 1865 and evolved into what is now Lutheran Social Service of Minnesota.[1] It closed in 2016.[2]

History

See also: Vasa Township, Goodhue County, Minnesota and Goodhue County, Minnesota
A promotional photograph of the landscape surrounding the former orphanage taken in 2011.

Vasa Lutheran Church and later Vasa Children's Home were in what was then the village of Vasa, so named after King Gustav Vasa, who ruled Sweden from 1523 to 1560. Originally the community was referred to as the Mattson Settlement in Goodhue County, Minnesota after Hans Mattson, the first European to settle the area in 1853, who later encouraged many Swedish families to join him. When the number of Swedish immigrants grew large enough, it was renamed Vasa village. Between 1854 and 1880, Vasa grew from 10 families to 4,300 residents. During the 1800s, 19 buildings were built in the village center.[3]

Vasa prospered agriculturally and was notable for hosting a US post office until the 1950s when core businesses closed and growth became stagnant. Today the area is known as the city of Welch, Minnesota and the site of the original village, including the church and orphanage, is on the National Register of Historical Places as the Vasa Historical District. It is the best preserved early Swedish settlement in Minnesota with architecture representative of the era, from which Swedish-descent Americans in Minnesota continue to draw cultural imagery.[3]

Swedish Lutheran Congregation was incorporated by Eric Norelius in 1855. It later became known as Vasa Lutheran Church, and today Vasa Evangelical Lutheran Church.[4]

Inception

The fourth building of the Vasa Children's Home near Red Wing, Minnesota, 1907

The Vasa Children's Home began in one room of the basement of Vasa Lutheran Church in what was then Vasa village, today the city of Welch, by Reverend Eric Norelius in 1865 when on a visit to St. Paul, Minnesota he met four orphaned children.[4][1] The home's first orphans were recent Swedish immigrants whose parents, Mikola and Anna Erikson, had died of illness shortly upon arrival in the United States.[5]

Need for the care of orphans outgrew the church basement and Norelius soon purchased ten acres near the church for the home's expansion. A hasty small building described as a "shanty"[6] dedicated to the care of orphans was built, and the remaining land was used for farming.[1] The home was entirely rebuilt after a tornado demolished it in 1872 in which four children died, and again after a fire in 1899. Despite tragedy, the orphanage and farm continued to find success. A 1,400 ft barn and concrete grain silo were erected in 1900 as well as several agricultural sheds in the years up until 1920. Far from its humble beginnings, the newest building had 1,700 square feet available, with 10 bedrooms, and several bathrooms.[7]

A 1909 record listed Vasa Children's Home also as a school that taught its residents in English and Swedish.[6]

Changing leadership

In 1876, Norelius transferred supervision of the home to the Board of the Society of Mercy, part of the Minnesota Conference of the Augustana Synod.[8]

Former Minnesota senator Frank I. Johnson, who was first elected in 1881, served as a trustee for 12 years.[6] Johnson immigrated from Sweden in 1858 at 18 years old and enlisted in the 8th Minnesota Volunteer Infantry under General Henry Sibley, for which he received commendation from Sibley for his involvement in the Dakota War of 1862 and the American Civil War. He returned to local business and social ventures including Vasa Children's Home when honorably discharged in 1865.

Lutheran Reverend Bernhard Modin led the Vasa Lutheran Church from March 1906 and served as the president of the Vasa Children's Home board of directors during his tenure. He immigrated from the area of Stockholm, Sweden in 1882 and graduated from Augustana College and later its theological seminary in Rock Island, Illinois. After ordination in the Swedish Lutheran Church of America in 1895 he led several midwestern congregations before settling in Goodhue County to lead Vasa Lutheran Church.[6]

While less information is available on the day-to-day and staff, Augusta Carlson is listed as a teacher at Vasa Children's home in 1909. She was born in Minnesota to Swedish immigrants and died in Vasa June 11th, 1913.[9] Her parents and five siblings attended the church as members.[10][6]

A promotional photograph of the agricultural buildings on the site of the former orphanage taken in 2008.

Relocation

The home relocated to its fourth site, six miles west of Red Wing, Minnesota, in 1926.[1] Between sixty and seventy children were housed at the Vasa Children's Home during the early 1900s.[8] In 1954, the home's focus shifted from housing orphaned or neglected children to caring for children with disabilities. Over 1,000 orphaned children had lived in the home prior to the shift to disability services.[1]

The fifth building of the Vasa Children's Home near Red Wing, Minnesota, taken in 2008.

Modern era

The fifth and last building, built in 1973, housed children and young adults with disabilities between the ages of 7 and 22.[11] Lutheran Social Service of Minnesota eventually moved away from the congregate disability home model between 2014 and 2016, which saw children and adults in their care moved primarily to private homes for more individualized services.[2] Thus, Vasa Children's Home was closed and the organization sold the property to private residential buyers.

In 2017 the privately-owned 1899 building in Welch was slated to become a wedding and event venue.[12] Again in 2017, Colleen and Steve Jensen purchased the home as a personal residence and business location. Their antique store Hoopala Junk now occupies the renovated barn.[13] About the historical significance of the location, they expressed gratitude on their Facebook page for the patrons who told them stories of when the home was still in operation. "We have had so many wonderful community members share their personal stories of Vasa Children's Home. We love our community and want to embrace the history of our home."[14]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d e "Historic Vasa Children's Home". Retrieved 13 January 2012.
  2. ^ a b "A Single Gesture that Grew into a Shared Purpose". Retrieved 23 February 2023.
  3. ^ a b "History of Vasa MN". Retrieved 23 February 2023.
  4. ^ a b "Vasa Ev. Lutheran Church, Vasa Minnesota". Retrieved 23 February 2023.
  5. ^ "History of Lutheran Social Service of Minnesota". Retrieved 13 January 2012.
  6. ^ a b c d e "Full text of 'History of Goodhue County, Minnesota'". Retrieved 23 February 2023.
  7. ^ "Goodhue County Assessor DOC#644097 NE1/4 OF SW1/4 OF NW1/4 SEC 15-112-16 ID# 42-0000-13700". Retrieved 23 February 2023.
  8. ^ a b Johnson, Emeroy (1958). God Gave the Growth: The Story of the Lutheran Minnesota Conference 1876-1958. Minneapolis: T.S. Denison & Company. p. 234.
  9. ^ "Minnesota Historical Society Death Certificate Index: 1913-MN-004580". Retrieved 23 February 2023.
  10. ^ "Minnesota Historical Society State Census Index: 864172". Retrieved 23 February 2023.
  11. ^ "LSS Vasa Children's Home". Retrieved 13 January 2012.
  12. ^ "Welch wedding barn approved: Goodhue County Board brief". Retrieved 23 February 2023.
  13. ^ "Our Story, Hoopala Junk". Retrieved 23 February 2023.
  14. ^ "Dec 7, 2021 Hoopala Junk Facebook post". Retrieved 23 February 2023.

44°34′1″N 92°38′7″W / 44.56694°N 92.63528°W / 44.56694; -92.63528

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