The Soldiers’ Orphan Schools provided education for children in Pennsylvania, starting during the Civil War and continuing until 2009. The program was established by Governor Andrew Gregg Curtin of Bellefonte and one of the schools operated in Centre County for four years.
Founded in 1864, the orphan school program extended across the commonwealth in forty-six privately owned facilities directed by a superintendent who was appointed by the governor. Curtin, who was known as “The Soldier’s Friend” because of his concern for the welfare of Pennsylvania’s troops during the war, had pledged to take care of the children of soldiers.
Initial funding for the orphan schools came from a $50,000 donation from the president of the Pennsylvania Railroad, J. Edgar Thomson. He initially made the donation to aid the war effort, but the money later was allocated to start the program.
The Centre County orphan school operated in Jacksonville from 1865 to 1869. Prior to that, the school building housed the Fairview Female Seminary which was open from 1845 to 1857. Reverend D. G. Klein directed the Jacksonville orphan school. About 175 students of various ages from Centre and neighboring counties attended.
The local school, like many of the orphan schools, faced severe financial pressures. Per annum reimbursement from the state for each student was reduced twice in three years and the financial burden led to the school’s closure. The local students were reassigned to other schools in the state.
All the orphan schools were residential with regular summer vacations. In addition to grammar and mathematics, American history was a key element of the curriculum. Evaluation of progress was mainly done through oral recitation. School days for the children consisted of both classes and chores. While training in industrial skills was an objective, the early schools did not have the resources to equip the students with employable skills.
Character and moral training were emphasized with the goal of the students becoming become productive citizens. Military training was also a key component, for both the boys and girls. A highlight for students was marching in an annual parade at the capitol in Harrisburg.
By 1893 most of the original forty-six orphan schools had closed for financial reasons, and plans were made to create a single, state-run school in Scotland, just north of Chambersburg. The school opened in 1895 as the “Soldiers Orphan Industrial School” and operated until 2009. “Industrial” was included in the name to emphasize the importance of providing skills to the graduates. Despite a scandal in 1886 that revealed neglect of children at some of the schools, the program weathered the blow, and the legislature continued to fund it until 2009.
Although the Jacksonville school closed after four years, students from Centre County continued to attend other schools through the mid-1900s. In 1883, nineteen children from the county attended the McAllisterville school in Juniata County and three attended the Tressler school in Perry County. In 1909, four children attended the Scotland school and twelve attended the Chester Springs school. As late as the 1950s and 1960s, six students from the county graduated from the Scotland school.
The orphan schools program is recognized with a plaque at the statue of Curtin at the Soldiers and Sailors Memorial in Bellefonte. In his honor, one of the first buildings at the Scotland school was named “Curtin Hall.”
While attending a gathering of former students at the capitol after the Civil War, Curtin repeated the original purpose of the orphan schools. “I pledged to the brave men, that if they were to go into the field of battle, we would take care of their orphan children,” he said. “This beneficence is the result. Pennsylvania has something to be proud of!”
William Peck
Sources:
Annual Reports of the Pennsylvania Commission of Soldiers’ Orphan Schools. 1883, 1895, 1909.
Bair, Sarah. “Making Good on a Promise: The Education of Civil War Orphans in Pennsylvania, 1863-1893.” History of Education Quarterly. Volume 51, Issue 4, 2017.
Bair, Sarah. “Continuing to Pay the ‘Patriotic Debt’: The Establishment of the Pennsylvania Soldiers Orphan Schools 1893-1912.” Pennsylvania History, Volume 82, Number 4, 2015,
Bair, Sarah. “Scotland School for Veterans’ Children: An Enduring Legacy.” The History Press. 2017.
Geisberg, Judith. “Pennsylvania’s Soldiers’ Orphan Schools and the Landscape of Postwar Childhood,” in Children and Youth during the Civil War Era, edited by James Marten. New York: NYU Press, 2012.
Paul, James Laughery. Pennsylvania’s Soldiers’ Orphan Schools. Harrisburg: Lane S. Hart, 1877.
First Published: September 25, 2025
Last Modified: January 15, 2026