Belmont County Children's Home (1880–1981) was an orphanage, located in
Tacoma in
Belmont County, east of
Barnesville, Ohio
Barnesville is a village in Belmont County, Ohio, United States. It is located in the central portion of Warren Township in Belmont County and is part of the Wheeling, West Virginia Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 4,193 at the ...
, United States. It was a brick building with a
cupola
In architecture, a cupola () is a relatively small, most often dome-like, tall structure on top of a building. Often used to provide a lookout or to admit light and air, it usually crowns a larger roof or dome.
The word derives, via Italian, from ...
on each of the central 4-story towers and two three-story wings. It was built on a 65-acre site with hilltop views. A children's cemetery remains.
The orphanage closed in 1981 and the empty buildings were demolished in 1990. The children's home is commemorated in a mural commissioned by the Barnesville Village Council, on the west side of the Domino's Pizza building at 146 W. Main St. in downtown Barnesville.
History
The building was designed by
J.W. Yost, (1847–1923), a prominent architect from
Ohio
Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...
whose works included other public buildings. Distinctive in appearance, it was pictured on postcards. A children's cemetery was adjacent.
The cornerstone of the Children's Home was laid down on June 1879. After the building was demolished, the cornerstone was kept in a Lodge and then relocated to the
Watt Center for History and the Arts. The property where the home was located was transferred to the Port Authority and targeted for redevelopment in 2018.
Inez Palmer, who confessed to the
Axtel Ridge Murders, had stayed at the home, and was "farmed out" to families but said she found herself pursued by various males at the homes where she resided.
References
External links
Image of the building
{{coord, 39.9995, N, 81.1447, W, region:US-OH_type:landmark, display=title
Buildings and structures in Belmont County, Ohio
1880 establishments in Ohio
Orphanages in Ohio
Demolished buildings and structures in Ohio
Buildings and structures demolished in 1990
1981 disestablishments in Ohio