House of Refuge 1854 - 1920
(School of Industrial Reform)
The property was first a cemetery, then a civil war hospital before becoming a home for dependent and delinquent children. It later became The University of Louisville's Belknap Campus after the children's home was moved to Ormsby Village.
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In 1850 the city of Louisville purchased 80 acres of land south of the city (now 3rd Street and Eastern Parkway) for a public cemetery. It was named Oakland (also called Southern Cemetery). Few people were willing to purchase lots and few burials were performed. This property would eventually become the Belknap Campus of the University of Louisville.
In 1854 The House of Refuge was founded. It was to address the problem of delinquent and dependent children. After several years without a campus the defunct Oakland Cemetery property seemed ideal for the facility. By 1860 the land for the cemetery had been transferred to the House of Refuge and the citizens buried at Oakland were re-interred at Cave Hill Cemetery.
As the House of Refuge buildings were nearing completion, the Civil War began and the Union army seized the facilities for use as hospitals. At the end of the war, the buildings were relinquished by the military and the first child was admitted in 1865.
As the school facilities expanded over the next decades, buildings were added to house girls as well as colored children of both sexes. In addition to dormitories, the campus also included a library, workshops, laundries, and a chapel. Children studied arithmetic, geography, and writing in the campus classrooms. The ages of the children were 7 to 16. They also worked in the laundries, shoe shop, sewing room, garden and farm, and greenhouses. The name for the facility had been changed to the Industrial School of Reform.
In 1920 the facility needed more space and merged with Jefferson County's new child care facility which had purchased a 400 acre site in Lyndon. The new city/county agency became The Louisville and Jefferson County Children's Home. It was popularly known as Ormsby Village. Scroll down to see that section.
In 1854 The House of Refuge was founded. It was to address the problem of delinquent and dependent children. After several years without a campus the defunct Oakland Cemetery property seemed ideal for the facility. By 1860 the land for the cemetery had been transferred to the House of Refuge and the citizens buried at Oakland were re-interred at Cave Hill Cemetery.
As the House of Refuge buildings were nearing completion, the Civil War began and the Union army seized the facilities for use as hospitals. At the end of the war, the buildings were relinquished by the military and the first child was admitted in 1865.
As the school facilities expanded over the next decades, buildings were added to house girls as well as colored children of both sexes. In addition to dormitories, the campus also included a library, workshops, laundries, and a chapel. Children studied arithmetic, geography, and writing in the campus classrooms. The ages of the children were 7 to 16. They also worked in the laundries, shoe shop, sewing room, garden and farm, and greenhouses. The name for the facility had been changed to the Industrial School of Reform.
In 1920 the facility needed more space and merged with Jefferson County's new child care facility which had purchased a 400 acre site in Lyndon. The new city/county agency became The Louisville and Jefferson County Children's Home. It was popularly known as Ormsby Village. Scroll down to see that section.
In 1923, the University of Louisville purchased the abandoned property of the House of Refuge/Industrial School of Reform. Eight of the buildings are still in use as of 2013. They are the Jouett, Ford, Gardiner, Gottschalk, Brigman, Oppenheimer and Patterson Halls. Also the Playhouse Theater which was the former chapel for the House of Refuge.
Four of the same buildings with recent photos. They are all in one area of the campus.
Four of the same buildings with recent photos. They are all in one area of the campus.
Ormsby Village/ Ridgewood 1920 - 1968
The new Louisville and Jefferson County Children's Home that was to take the place of the House of Refuge/School of Industrial Reform opened in 1920 and was located on a 400 acre tract bounded by LaGrange Rd, Whipps Mill Rd. and Dorsey Lane. Reformers favored locating child care facilities away from the cities and the new interurban electric rail lines made the use of a rural site practical. The facility was to be run by a bipartisan Board of Managers appointed by the mayor and county judge.
The residential campus for white children was called Ormsby Village, and the campus for blacks was called Ridgewood and had a separate entrance off of Dorsey. The home put into practice some of the most advanced ideas in juvenile care to be found anywhere in the United States. The campus contained an administration building, central dining hall and kitchen, a service building, a school and a hospital. There were 14 cottages that could hold 40 children each. There were athletic fields, a swimming pool, poultry yards and a dairy. The historic house on the property, Bellevoir, became the residence of the superintendent.
The majority of the children were dependents whose parents could no longer care for them. Children who committed mild form of delinquency were also admitted. The home housed over 400 children at the height of its operation in the 1930s to the early 1950s. Occupancy became less and less and in the early 1960s the school was closed. In 1968 the Board of Managers was dissolved and the control of the facility was handed over to the Metro Social Services Department. The Ridgewood buildings were leased to the state and renamed Lynnwood. The facilities were closed in 1975.
During the 1980s the property was used for a community gardens and then the Kentucky Railway Museum. In 1987 the county sold most of the land which would be developed as Hurstbourne Green. All of the Ormsby Village and Ridgewood buildings were demolished except for Bellevoir.
The residential campus for white children was called Ormsby Village, and the campus for blacks was called Ridgewood and had a separate entrance off of Dorsey. The home put into practice some of the most advanced ideas in juvenile care to be found anywhere in the United States. The campus contained an administration building, central dining hall and kitchen, a service building, a school and a hospital. There were 14 cottages that could hold 40 children each. There were athletic fields, a swimming pool, poultry yards and a dairy. The historic house on the property, Bellevoir, became the residence of the superintendent.
The majority of the children were dependents whose parents could no longer care for them. Children who committed mild form of delinquency were also admitted. The home housed over 400 children at the height of its operation in the 1930s to the early 1950s. Occupancy became less and less and in the early 1960s the school was closed. In 1968 the Board of Managers was dissolved and the control of the facility was handed over to the Metro Social Services Department. The Ridgewood buildings were leased to the state and renamed Lynnwood. The facilities were closed in 1975.
During the 1980s the property was used for a community gardens and then the Kentucky Railway Museum. In 1987 the county sold most of the land which would be developed as Hurstbourne Green. All of the Ormsby Village and Ridgewood buildings were demolished except for Bellevoir.
Bellevoir 1864 - present
Posted to the National Register of Historic Places on December 5, 1980
Bellevoir is an outstanding example of an Italianate country
house. Hamilton and Edmonia Taylor Ormsby built the house between 1864 and 1867
to replace an earlier house that had burned. Ormsby was a grandson of Judge
Stephen Ormsby who had purchased the 800 acre property for a farm in 1803. Mrs
Taylor was a niece of President Zachary Taylor of nearby Springfields. In 1912 Ormsby heirs sold Bellevoir and 400 surrounding acres to Jefferson County
Fiscal Court to be used for the new Louisville and Jefferson County Children's Home. The Bellevoir house became the residence of the superintendent of the children's home.
In 1896 part of the land was purchased by the Kentucky Military Institute. In 1987 the county sold most of the remaining land which would be developed as Hurstbourne Green.
The house is located at 1 Bellevoir Circle near the intersection of LaGrange Road and Whipps Mill Road .
In 1896 part of the land was purchased by the Kentucky Military Institute. In 1987 the county sold most of the remaining land which would be developed as Hurstbourne Green.
The house is located at 1 Bellevoir Circle near the intersection of LaGrange Road and Whipps Mill Road .