Shawen Acres AKA Montgomery County Children's Home - Then

According to Wikipedia

Shawen Acres, also known as the Montgomery County Children's Home, is an historic complex at 3304 N. Main St. in Dayton, Ohio. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places on October 9, 1991.

It was originally designed as an orphan’s home. Dr. Charles Shawen donated 19 acres (77,000 m²) to the county March 21, 1926 for "wayward and homeless children." The complex comprises a main building, annex, gym, and 10 English-style cottages in a park-like setting.

Here is the Sanborn Fire Insurance map from 1932

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This is how the grounds looked in 1955. Not certain what the extra buildings were but one may have been a boiler room to heat all the buildings.

This was the nursery building back in the day. This is the only building that has been renovated and is still in use today. You can read about the place in it's current condition in the next post.

Here is a photo of a photograph that hangs on the wall in the renovated nursery building showing the place soon after inception.

This stone lies near the same building.

There is a sad tale to tell about this facility now and you can read about it in the next post.