Our history books fail to tell the plight of some new immigrants to the United States back in the 1800's. Families left the Old Country with all their worldly goods to resetle in the Land of Opportunity. What they found in New York City was poverty and disease worse than thety could have imagined. When parents died or were unable to care for their children, the children were sent to orphanages. Responding to swelling numbers, Charles Loring Brace had a brainstorm! Send the children to families in the West. The West could offer them new lives and families who could care for them. But, is this what actually happened? By examining the biographies of real people and comparing their stories of children who rode the Orphan Train were told. Join us as we explore the world and reality and the world of historical fiction.
