Most of the formal photos of the St. Michael’s Orphanage show only a front view of the imposing building, with no visible signs of life.
So here are some photos that show some groups of St. Michael’s children in various activities.
These include views of kids swinging on the playground, a boy scout group, and kids fishing at the Creamery pond.
Last call for the upcoming talk on St. Michael’s Orphanage: A Visual History, on Wed., May 8 at 7 pm. You can attend in person at the Hopewell Presbyterian Church, or online via Zoom. Come discover the history of the site and how it was used, with lots more pictures, including inside the buildings.
And see more on the St. Michael’s Orphanage Photo Collection.
Kids on Swings
This undated photo shows kids playing on swings. The group is mostly girls, with a couple boys also involved.
This would be behind the St. Michael’s building, but the portion of the building visible to the right is unclear.
The water tower was roughly behind the center of the building, so this area would have been set back behind the north (“girls”) wing.
The view then faces south, so the “boys” side playground would be in the distance (as the ground slopes away).
Boy Scout Group (1938)
This photo is identified as St. Michael’s boy scouts.
This would fit with the kids in the back saluting and giving the three-finger sign, plus with one kid holding a trumpet.
Not much is visible in the background except a line of poles, presumably going to the adjacent St. Michael’s farm.
Kids Fishing (1941)
This photo, courtesy of the Klevze family, shows a group of St. Michael’s boys at the local pond for fishing. The girl in front is a family member. Several kids are holding items, one is drinking, and another appears to be licking his pole.
The location is the pond in front of the Hopewell Creamery on Model Avenue. (The pond since has been filled in, and the site is now Boro Collision at 56 Model Avenue). The view is facing east, showing the still-existing Model Avenue stone bridge on the right, before Mercer Street.
The creamery pond originally was used around 1900 to gather ice in the winter to keep the milk cool in the creamery. After the property was sold in 1925 it was used intermittently for public recreation through the 1940s, including swimming, fishing, and ice skating. This included the Sourland Mountain Sport Club, which for several years sponsored a fishing contest for children under 14, with the pond stocked with “a large supply of trout.”
The first two photos are courtesy of the archives of the Sisters of St. Francis, the order that operated and staffed St. Michael’s throughout its existence.
== Upcoming talk on St. Michael’s Orphanage: A Visual History – Wed., May 8, 2024 ==
== See more on the St. Michael’s Orphanage Photo Collection ==
Please contact us if you have additional photos, materials, or information to share about St. Michael’s to help in this research!
More on St. Michael’s Orphanage
St. Michael’s Orphan Asylum and Industrial School operated for three quarters of a century (1898 to 1973) just south of Hopewell, providing support and education for abandoned and neglected children.
Presentation
- Main page – St. Michael’s – History, Presentation Video, Media, and References
- Talk – St. Michael’s Orphanage: A Visual History – Wed., May 8, 2024
Posts – and History Briefs
- Post and Brief – St. Michael’s Orphanage
- Post and Brief – The St. Michael’s Cemetery – and Celtic Cross
Posts – Photos
- Post – Photos of St. Michael’s Kids
- Post – St. Michael’s Photos – Behind the Building
- Post – St. Michael’s Orphanage Photo Collection
Posts – Records and Documentation
- Post & docs – St. Michael’s Orphanage – Census Records (1900-1950)
- Post & docs – St. Michael’s School & Mission Annual Reports, 1940s-1973
- Post & docs – St. Michael’s Orphanage – Farm Report – 1914
- Post – Investigating History in Hopewell Maps – St. Michael’s Building
Resources
- St. Michael’s School pages from the Pennington Borough Historical Website
(History, photos, 1900 census, memories)
Media
- Images – View the 200+ St. Michael’s images on the History Project site
- Video – Songs and Prayers of the Children of St. Michael’s Orphanage – 1930s
- Video – A Home in the Country: The Story of St. Michael’s Orphanage, by Jack Koeppel, 2016 Hopewell Public Library presentation
