Our History
The Methodist Orphanage was founded in 1899 to care for children in desperate circumstances.
The first building was completed in late 1900. The first child, Cassie Bright, was admitted
in January 1901; by the end of 1901, the Methodist Orphanage was home to 28 children.
In the ensuing decades, the agency became a comprehensive residential facility and school as
the Orphanage expanded to serve a growing number of disadvantaged children. Enrollment peaked
at 340 residents in 1931 during the height of the Depression.
In the early years, children lived in large dormitories which accommodated 25 to 30 children.
Over time, the Orphanage adopted and adapted a house-parent method of rearing children. Cottages
for up to 12 youth replaced the large dormitory settings. At first, boys and girls occupied
separate cottages. Co-ed cottages were later established to let siblings stay together.
In 1955, Orphanage leaders adopted a new name for the organization: The Methodist Home for
Children. The agency restructured to meet the growing needs of children and families in
America's more mobile society.
Marking a departure from providing strictly residential programs, MHC developed several new
outreach services during the 1970s. These innovative counseling programs were designed to help
troubled families stay together.
In 1979, MHC's leaders made a major strategic decision based on research and experience: MHC
moved from a child-centered, campus-based program to a family-centered, community-based approach.
MHC sold its 60+-acre central campus and established a network of youth homes and family-centered
outreach programs across its entire service region These actions reflected an evolutionary shift
from the early 20th century practice of rescuing children to a more modern methodology which aims
to assist the child by preserving the family.
Methodist Home for Children today
Our mission, in service to God, is to build upon the social, physical, emotional, and spiritual
strengths of children, youth, and families, and to affirm their worth.
Methodist Home for Children now serves more than 1,300 children and families each year through an
array of community-based services and resources which:
- ensure that children grow up in safe, loving homes
- educate parents and caregivers about how best to nurture children and young adults
- help young people navigate adolescence
- work to eradicate the social and family problems that lead to abuse, neglect, family disruption, and child abandonment
We serve all children and families regardless of their religion, race, ethnic background, or economic
status. Our services include family-based counseling, community-based residential youth homes, childcare
consultation, training, and services, substance abuse services, foster care, therapeutic foster care,
and adoption. We use a values-based model of care that promotes honesty, respect, responsibility,
empowerment, compassion, and spirituality.
1903-1904
The Main Building is erected; the Methodist Orphanage School opens.
Each pastoral charge in the Methodist Annual Conference provides financial
support to the Orphanage.
1906
Mabel "Muh" Brown is admitted at age 8. When she graduates in 1918, she
becomes a beloved member of the staff for many, many years.
1908-1910
The original Methodist Orphanage campus is greatly enlarged by the purchase of 50 adjoining acres.
More residences and other buildings are erected.
1914-1920
World War I begins.
The City of Raleigh installs and connects water and sewer lines to the Methodist Orphanage property.
Building Number One is destroyed by fire and is rebuilt; the infirmary is built.
The Methodist Orphanage High School honors its first graduating class of seniors; the Methodist Orphanage Alumni
Association is organized during a reunion at Easter.
President Woodrow Wilson sends a Christmas note to the children of the Methodist Orphanage to apologize that
Josephus Daniels, businessman and philanthropist, would not be available to give out Christmas gifts.
The 19th Amendment gives women the right to vote.
1927-1931
The Makepeace Building is built to care for pre-school children. It is known as the Baby Cottage.
The stock market crashes on October 29; the Great Depression begins.
The former home of the superintendent is remodeled into a boys' residence named the E.B. Borden Building.
This building still stands today.
The Orphanage has been raising almost all its own food on farmland on the property; now all farming operations
are moved from the campus to Caraleigh Farm, five miles south of the campus.
1932
The Methodist Orphanage School becomes part of the Public School System of Wake County.
1933-1934
A new administration building replaces the old Main Building; a dining hall and another girls' residence are
built, as is a new gateway which enhances the entrance to the Orphanage on Glenwood Avenue.
1938-1940
A residence for older girls is constructed, as is a central steam plant, which serves the dining
room, administration building, and laundry.
A gymnasium, athletic field, and three tennis courts are built.
1940-1945
The Japanese attack Pearl Harbor on December 7; the United States enters World War II.
First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt visits the Methodist Orphanage on March 21.
1948-1951
The Rev. A.S. "Daddy" Barnes retires as superintendent after 33 years of service.
The Garriss Building, which still stands, is built as a residence for older boys.
Minimum wage is 75 cents.
The Methodist Orphanage streets are paved and lighted.
1952-1955
The Korean War begins.
The Methodist Orphanage farming operation is terminated and equipment, herds, and the Caraleigh Farm are sold.
In Alabama, Rosa Parks defies state law by refusing to give up her front seat on a bus to a white person.
The Methodist Orphanage officially becomes the Methodist Home for Children.
1960-1964
The Methodist Orphanage High School closes; students transfer to Needham Broughton High School.
The Brown Cottage, a residence for children, is torn down. Two new cottages are built.
Monk Memorial Chapel is built.
1965
The first US troops arrive in Vietnam.
A chaplain position is established at the Methodist Home for Children and the Rev. Franklin D. Daniels, who grew
up at the Orphanage, becomes the first chaplain.
1966-1968
The ideas of the original founders of homelike living for children are emphasized. A Director of Group Care is
hired. The central cafeteria closes and food service becomes a part of the function of each cottage.
House Parent couples live in each cottage and carry out all normal parental duties.
The trustees engage a consultant to study future programs and home services.
1970-1971
Two new residences are built on campus for the director of group care and for the chaplain.
Non-discrimination policies of the United Methodist Church are put into practice. All races of children are
admitted to the Methodist Home for Children.
The trustees adopt a long-range plan of child care development. Family-style living cottages are added on campus.
1976-1979
The NC Conference of the United Methodist Church grants Methodist Home for Children permission to
initiate the shift from campus-based to community-based programs.
The Methodist Home for Children's main campus is sold; community-based programs start with youth homes.
1982-1985
MHC's first six youth homes open in communities in Raleigh and in Eastern North Carolina.
Monk's Chapel on the old Methodist Orphanage property is dismantled and parts are used to build
Winstead United Methodist Church in Wilson, NC.
1986
Another group home opens, this one for youth with substance abuse issues.
Methodist Home for Children's first foster parents are licensed.
Methodist Home for Children initiates its family preservation program.
The current administrative building is built at 1041 Washington Street, on land once occupied by the Methodist Orphanage.
1993-1997
Several more youth homes open in Wilmington and in Eastern North Carolina; the Juvenile Home Services Program
opens with homes in five counties—Chowan, Craven, Hertford, Robeson and Wayne.
Methodist Home for Children Substance Abuse Program begins in Wayne County.
1998
MHC's board of directors adopts a new strategic plan calling for greater emphasis on prevention and early intervention services.
Methodist Home for Children is licensed as an adoption agency, allowing MHC to work toward permanence for children in need.
2001
Upon completion of a $7 million capital campaign, the Jordan Child & Family Enrichment Center opens its doors to
serve children and families. This marks MHC's strategic entry into early childhood development services.
2005
We celebrated the 100th adoption of a child through Methodist Home for Children's foster-to-adopt program.
2006
MHC began providing In-home services known as the New Hanover Project. The three main services of this project include family re-unification, preservation
and foster-family support.
2008
Methodist Home for Children announces largest gift ever received in the history of the agency - a bequest of six million dollars from the estate of Mrs.
Ruth Jackson Carver.
2009
On Saturday, September 12, Methodist Home for Children (MHC) and the city of Raleigh came together to celebrate over 100 years of
service to children and families, as they unveiled a state highway historical marker on the grounds of the original Methodist
Orphanage (MO). The marker recognizes MO as one of the state’s oldest orphanages, noting its founding in 1899 to care for young
people from 56 counties in central and eastern North Carolina. At its campus in Raleigh, MO served as a home for more than 2,700
children before transitioning, between 1979 and 1984, to a community-based family and child service agency.