Odd Fellow and Rebekah Children's Home

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'm just the voice carryin' it down the road. Way back in 1885, the Grand Lodge of Texas, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, did something that didn't happen much in those days — they founded the I. O.

O. F. Widows and Orphans Home, one of the first fraternal orphanages in the entire state of Texas.

Now that alone is worth slowing down for. Corsicana Lodge No. 63 and other local citizens put up 200 acres to give this place a home — a real, physical place to stand. And on April 26, 1886, they laid the cornerstone for the first permanent building.

That date got set in stone, literally. But here's where the story gets quiet before it gets big: in 1891, only one child was living there. One.

You have to sit with that a moment — 200 acres, a cornerstone, a whole fraternal order behind it, and a single child. But enrollment picked up, financial support followed, and what grew out of that slow start became something nobody could have scripted. The home turned into its own self-contained community.

Its own independent school district. Its own farm and dairy. Its own power plant.

Its own water supply. By 1911, when enrollment had climbed past 300, they built Abel Rice Auditorium — a building that held a swimming pool, a gymnasium, and a fine arts department sponsored by the Rebekah lodges. That's not a orphanage anymore, friend.

That's a town. From 1905 all the way until 1928, the campus also served as a home for the aged, until a separate facility opened down in Ennis to take on that work. Enrollment peaked at nearly 400 in the 1920s — the place was humming.

Then came the 1930s and 1940s, and the numbers dropped sharply. The school closed in 1943, and the children started attending Corsicana public schools instead. Two years later, a reconversion program modernized the campus buildings.

And in 1948, it got the name it carries today: the Odd Fellow and Rebekah Children's Home. Over 5,500 persons have been cared for within these grounds. Started with one child on 200 donated acres, and the number that came after runs into the thousands.

Some stories don't need embellishing. They just need tellin'.

What the marker says

In 1885 the Grand Lodge of Texas, Independent Order of Odd Fellows, founded the I. O. O. F. Widows and Orphans Home, one of the first fraternal orphanages in the state. Corsicana Lodge No. 63 and other local citizens gave 200 acres as a site for the facility. On April 26, 1886, the cornerstone for the first permanent building was laid. Only one child was residing here in 1891, but enrollment and financial support soon increased. The home became a self-contained community with its own independent school district, farm and dairy, power plant, and water supply. Abel Rice Auditorium, built in 1911 when enrollment was over 300, contained a swimming pool and gym, and housed the fine arts department sponsored by the Rebekah lodges. This institution also served as a home for the aged from 1905 until a separate facility opened in Ennis in 1928. After peaking at nearly 400 in the 1920s, enrollment dropped sharply in the 1930s and 1940s. The school closed in 1943, and students began attending Corsicana public schools. Campus buildings were modernized in a 1945 "reconversion program." Renamed in 1948, the Odd Fellow and Rebekah Children's Home has provided care for over 5500 persons.