History, Presentation Video, Media, and References
St. Michael’s was a major local institution that operated just outside of Hopewell Borough for three quarters of a century (1898 to 1973), to provide support and education for abandoned and neglected children.
St. Michael’s was home over the years to thousands of children, over a hundred Sisters of St. Francis who operated the facility, and other live-in staff, plus families living on the associated farm. The site also hosted additional day workers and day students.
The orphanage and farm buildings are gone, but St. Michael’s lives on in local memories. We know it now as the over 400-acre D&R Greenway St. Michael’s Farm Preserve just outside of Hopewell Borough.
St. Michael’s History
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, from infants to around age 14. 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.
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.
See References below for two Hopewell History Brief reports on St. Michael’s for details and references on the history of St. Michaels and on its cemetery.
St. Michael’s – Presentation Video and Slides
The St. Michael’s Orphanage: A Visual History presentation by Douglas Dixon was held on May 8, 2024 at the Hopewell Presbyterian Church, and online.
This provides a visual history of St. Michael’s using photos and memories from a variety of contributors. We explore around the building to see kids playing on the playground and around the grounds. And we go inside the building to see the children in the nursery, school rooms, chapel, dining room, and dorm rooms.
- Download the Presentation slides (PDF)
Hopewell Public Library Speaker Series, co-sponsored by the Hopewell Valley Historical Society and The Hopewell Museum.
See also the video of the songs and prayers of the children of St. Michael’s Orphanage in the 1930s, as remembered, recited, and sung by Cecille (“Cece”) Haggerty O’Brien, who was at St. Michael’s from 1933 to 1943 (almost age 3 through age 13).
St. Michael’s – Media
The History Project Image Gallery has over 200 St. Michael’s images from a variety of contributors, from the 1890s to the current day.
St. Michael’s Images
- Post on the St. Michael’s Photo Collection
- Image Gallery – All St. Michael’s images on the History Project Site
- Image Gallery – St. Michael’s Photo Album
Related External Videos
- See A Home in the Country: The Story of St. Michael’s Orphanage, by Jack Koeppel, 2016 Hopewell Public Library presentation (YouTube)
St. Michael’s – References
See the two Hopewell History Briefs on St. Michael’s for details and references on the history of St. Michaels and on the cemetery. See the documentation for additional information on St. Michaels.
Hopewell History Briefs
Full research papers with much more detail on the history of St. Michael’s, plus references for this information:
- Post – St. Michael’s Orphanage
– Brief – St. Michael’s Orphanage History Brief (PDF) - Post – St. Michael’s Cemetery and Celtic Cross
– Brief – St. Michael’s Cemetery History Brief (PDF)
Documentation
We welcome additional information and materials on the St. Michael’s to share.
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
