National Orphan Train Complex — Attraction in Concordia

The orphan train warranted one line in the textbook where I first came across it. In fact, it is a story in and of itself, not just of the children but that time in America - from roughly the 1870s to the 1930s- when a massive number of immigrants poured into New York city. Many families ultimately were unable to care for their children, and religious organizations, supported financially by the Rockefellers, the Carnegies, and other monied families, ultimately intervened. Their goal of giving these children a "good Christian upbringing" reflected values of the time but is cringeworthy today. Over 50+ years, 250,000 children were shipped out of NYC to rural families as essentially child labor.

Concordia, Kansas was one of the places this train stopped, and this national center has taken on the challenge of retelling a little-known story. Concordia is off the beaten track: roughly 90 miles east of Hays and another 50 miles north of I-70. But it is worth the detour - and I say that having backtracked two hours from Hays with some level of doubt.

The museum itself is an unassuming collection of 3 buildings: you start at building 1, where you view a film which provides an overview of the orphan train. This building also has a bookstore. Building 2 encloses a restored and staged train car from that era (photo op suggestions in areas of the train car). Building 3 - which is the actual Concordia train station from the days of the Orphan train-is a 3 room display of photographs, explanatory plaques, and stories of several children. The exhibit is first class with detailed explanations, enlarged photographs, and artifacts. The museum appears to take a neutral "just the facts ma'am" perspective: it is in the stories of the individual children where you see the disconnect between the children and the families who take them on. While the exhibit appears complete, the work is actually ongoing, as the museum and its supporters continue their efforts to identify all these children and tell...

We discovered the Orphan Train Museum traveling home last year through Kansas. Unfortunately, it was closing time when we arrived. So, this year we made a point to visit the museum, and we were very impressed. The women that work there are knowledgeable and answered our many questions. We spent several hours going through the museum and learning about this forgotten piece of history. Many of the stories were heart warming, some heart breaking. Would highly recommend stopping in Concordia, KS to visit...

I really enjoyed this little treasure of a museum. It's small but informative. I think our two kids got a little bored but it's really about reading and not so much about "stuff". It's about orphans and in reality, they didn't have much so there's not a lot to see as far as that is concerned. But the displays were beautifully done and the photos were very interesting. I recommend it for everyone, but you might plan a picnic or something for kids...