The Soldiers’ Orphans’ Homes of Cedar Falls and Davenport, Iowa – Digital Archive – Dana Jamison

1867 article from The Cedar Falls Gazette about the condition of the orphanage and the orphans in it. The orphanage is described as old and needing repairs. The orphans themselves are described as healthy, clean, well clothed, and look happy. The sleeping conditions and the schooling schedules are also described.

1867 article From The Cedar Falls Gazette. Describes the food that the children are being given and the behavior of the children. Says that the Iowa budget of $100 per child should be raised to $150 to create a suitable home for the children. Commends the director of the home Mr. Abbott for keeping the home in budget since the Davenport home is $7,000 in debt.

1903/1904 report by the Iowa Board of Control of State Institutions. Page 194 talks about the Iowa Soldiers’ Orphans’ Home and some of the history behind it.

1923 article from the College Eye about the origins of the Cedar Falls Orphan’s Home, what Cedar Falls looked like then, names of the first orphans to live there, and an oral history story about a boy who ran away from the home for a night.

1929 article from the College Eye (UNI Newspaper) about the Cedar Falls Orphan’s Home which was transformed into the Normal School Building (also known as North Hall and later Central Hall).

A brief essay on the origins of the University of Northern Iowa (the Iowa State Normal School) in Cedar Falls, Iowa.

November 1990 Goldfinch article about Annie Wittenmyer and the Orphans’ Homes.

UNI Special Collections History on the Central Hall which was the Cedar Falls Orphans’ Home. Goes briefly over the early history of the building up until it burned down in 1965.

A 2017 article from The Northern Iowan about the history of the bell that was a part of the orphanage and later Central Hall.