From 1854 to 1929, hundreds of thousands of abandoned and orphaned children were sent from east coast cities to the American countryside in a “placing out” effort to find them loving homes. The movement boasted an impressive success rate by relocating over 250,000 children to midwestern states.

There, the Children's Aid Society workers hoped, they would be adopted by families and put to work in fields and on farms. They were part of what is now known as the orphan train movement, a sweeping attempt to protect homeless, poor and orphaned children in a time before social welfare or foster care.

While they operated, Orphan Trains moved approximately 200,000 children from cities like New York and Boston to the American West to be adopted. Many of these children were placed with parents who loved and cared for them; however others always felt out of place and some were even mistreated.

The Orphan Train Movement was a supervised welfare program that transported children from crowded Eastern cities of the United States to foster homes located largely in rural areas of the Midwest. The orphan trains operated between 1854 and 1929, relocating from about 200,000 children.