St. Michael’s Orphanage Photo Collection

We have posted a new collection of some 180 photos of people and activities at St. Michael’s Orphanage in a album on the History Project site. This is in addition to the some 30 existing mostly postcards of the building, for a total of over 200 images now shared on the site.

These include over 100 images from the archives of the Sisters of Saint Francis showing activities with the sisters and the kids, over 30 images of the St. Michael’s farm courtesy of Rick Klevze, and family photos with views around the property.

The file names are tagged with dates (as known) and identification of what they show, so you can search for particular key words. Updates, corrections, and clarifications are welcome.

== View all the 200+ St. Michael’s images on the History Project site ==

== View the 80+ new St. Michael’s People & Activities images == =

== View the 20+ St. Michael’s building images ==

St. Michael’s Orphanage

The St. Michael’s Orphan Asylum and Industrial School was built in 1898 by the Roman Catholic Church to provide support and education for abandoned and neglected children. It was designed to be self-sufficient, as a home, school, church, and farm. The original building was expanded in the 1920s and 1930s with wings on each side and a gymnasium behind, growing to a capacity of 450 in the 1940s.

St. Michael’s under construction,1897 [HHH]

By 1955, St. Michael’s no longer housed orphans, and instead provided shorter-term housing for wards of the state – neglected and deprived children, 6 to 14 years, who are awaiting adoption or placement in foster homes – plus severely handicapped and profoundly retarded children, infant to 5 years.

The building was closed and then demolished in 1973, when it housed some 56 children. The property was preserved in 2010 by the D&R Greenway as the St. Michael’s Farm Preserve just south of Hopewell Borough. Today, the over 400 acre property is an expanse of farm fields and forests on the edge of Hopewell Borough, with six miles of farm roads providing walking trails throughout the preserve. (It also is now the site of the “The Awakening” monumental sculpture by J. Seward Johnson.)

See post on Investigating History in Hopewell Maps to see changes to the St. Michael’s building.

The Sisters of Saint Francis

The largest group of these photos are over 100 images shared courtesy of the Sisters of Saint Francis of Philadelphia, which is the order that staffed and ran St. Michael’s (tagged as SOSF). The order was formed in 1855, and has served in many missions throughout the U. S., South America, and further abroad.

The Sisters kindly invited us to visit their archives, where we were able to photograph and scan their St. Michael’s materials. They have been posting and sharing some images, but now they and we have digital copies of the full set.

Some of these photos were done by professional photographers, showing views of the sisters and kids, inside and outside, group photos and at play. There are also various informal snapshots in color, including the interior decorated for Christmas and Thanksgiving mass in the Chapel.

== View the Sisters of Saint Francis images of St. Michael’s ==

Klevze Farm

The Klevze family operated the St. Michael’s farm and lived in the farmhouse adjacent to the cluster of barns visible in the distance behind the St. Michael’s building.

Rick Klevze has kindly shared this collection of some 35 family photos, mainly from the 1920s to the early 1960s. These show views of the family with the farmhouse, in the farmyard with the barns, and in the fields. There are also some later 1980s color photos in the farmyard and a couple aerial views of the farm buildings.

1981 aerial of St Michael’s farm [Klevze]

In addition, there are some images of artifacts from St. Michael’s, including grain bags from local suppliers and a collection of metal toys and marbles lost by kids around the property.

== View the Klevze photos from the St. Michael’s Farm ==

Family Photos and Postcards

The collection also includes family photos with views around the St. Michael’s property, including some 15 photos contributed by Madilyn Benrubi. Other photos show groups of children and graduating classes, children in the classrooms and dining room, and the St. Michael’s Band.

== View the family photos of St. Michael’s from Madilyn Benrubi ==