Southwestern Presbyterian Home and School for Orphans

Duane's take

Here's how the marker tells it, and here's how I tell it back to you. Sometimes the biggest things start real small. Four children.

That's where this story begins. Four children in Dallas, members of their congregation gone, left behind by a deceased member of First Presbyterian Church. The women of that church stepped up and arranged care for those four kids, and somewhere in the doing of it, somebody looked around and said: this is bigger than one church, bigger than one city.

Texas needed a statewide orphanage. And so the church decided to found one. The D.

S. Files family gave the land, right here in Hill County, and in 1906 the home opened its doors. The Reverend M.

D. McLean served as its first president. Now, from the very beginning, the home did something that set it apart.

It used what they called the Cottage Plan, a modern approach, and it built a reputation that held, year after year, for its outstanding staff, its facilities, and its program. There was even a school on the grounds. That school ran for decades before it was closed in 1957.

The home itself kept on, eventually becoming part of the Presbyterian Children's Home and Service Agency. Four children, one congregation's act of care, and a piece of land given freely. That's what it took to start something that would outlast all of them.

What the marker says

Orphanage originated in Dallas when First Presbyterian Church women arranged care for four children of a deceased member. Church then decided to found a statewide orphanage, for which D. S. Files family gave this land. Home opened in 1906 with Rev. M. D. McLean as first president. From beginning, home has used modern "Cottage Plan" and has maintained reputation for its outstanding staff, facilities, and program. Home's school was closed in 1957. Orphanage now part of Presbyterian Children's Home and Service Agency.