In October of 1893, thirteen pastors of the North Illinois District of the German Evangelical Synod met in Palatine to discuss establishing a Christian home for neglected and orphaned children and the aged.  They returned to their parishes  and the project was warmly received.  A location for the home was sought  within a twenty-five mile radius of Chicago.   The Bensenville Village Board, aware of the project through one of its members who was also a member of the Evangelical Church, offered a gift of $1200.00 if the new home would be built in Bensenville.  This was in July of 1894.  In August of 1895, the German Evangelical Orphan and Old People's Home was dedicated.  This building was later referred to as "The Castle", and both the children and the aged lived in it until 1928 when the Bensenville Children's Home was completed.  At this time 67 children were residents of the new facility and 25 elderly resided in "The Castle". 

        Many of  the children referred to the Home did not need institutional care, so in 1942 the Home was licensed to go into the area of foster home care. By the Golden Jubilee in 1945, however, there was a need for expanded service for the aged. In 1954, a new nursing home building was added to the campus.  Two years later, the phasing out of institutional care for children was completed. Through extensive remodeling, the boys and girls dormitories became a pleasant and private residence for the ambulatory aged.

        In 1971,  the "Castle" could not meet a remodeling effort.  Only certain areas of the 1927 dormitories could continue to be used. The 1953 nursing building was in condition for remodeling. In 1975, a new facility called The Anchorage was completed.  The beautiful old building in this photo, "The Castle", was demolished in 1978.

        This information is from A History of the Bensenville Home Society by Reverend Gustav Pahl.  A reference copy of the the entire text can be found in the local history file in folder number one. For more photos and information about The Bensenville Home Society, go to the Main Menu and click on Organizations.

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