Elwyn Inc. is a care facility in

Elwyn, Pennsylvania Elwyn is an unincorporated community located in Middletown Township, Delaware County, Pennsylvania, USA. Elwyn has a latitude of 39.907N, longitude of -75.41W and an elevation of 253 feet above sea level. Elwyn is home to Elwyn Inc., a facility ca ...

, in

Middletown Township, Delaware County, Pennsylvania Middletown Township is a township in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 15,807 at the 2010 census. The Pennsylvania State University has an undergraduate satellite campus called Penn State Brandywine located in the ...

for mentally disabled individuals as well as those with age-related mental disabilities. Established in 1852, it provides education, rehabilitation, employment options, child welfare services, assisted living, respite care, campus and community therapeutic residential programs, and other support for daily living. Elwyn has satellite operations in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware, as well as programs in California. The first overseas offshoot of Elwyn Inc., Israel Elwyn, was founded in Jerusalem in 1984. Elwyn Inc., and the community it resides in, are named for its founder, Dr.

Alfred L. Elwyn Alfred Langdon Elwyn (9 July 1804 – 15 March 1884) was an American physician, author and philanthropist. He was a pioneer in the education and care of people with mental and physical disabilities. He was one of the founding officers of the Penns ...

, a physician, author and philanthropist.

History

Dr. Elwyn was one of the founding officers of the

Pennsylvania Institution for the Instruction of the Blind The Overbrook School for the Blind in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania was established in 1832. Its present site, in the city's Overbrook neighborhood, was acquired in 1890. Along with the Pennsylvania School for the Deaf, the Western Pennsylvania Sc ...

in 1833. He traveled to Boston for a meeting of the

American Association for the Advancement of Science The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is an American international non-profit organization with the stated goals of promoting cooperation among scientists, defending scientific freedom, encouraging scientific respons ...

in 1849. He had promised to take a letter from Rachel Laird, a blind girl living in Philadelphia, to

Laura Bridgman Laura Dewey Lynn Bridgman (December 21, 1829 – May 24, 1889) was the first deaf-blind American child to gain a significant education in the English language, twenty years before the more famous Helen Keller; Laura's friend Anne Sullivan becam ...

, who was a famous blind deaf mute in Boston. Bridgman was studying at the South Boston Institute for the Blind, and while there Elwyn visited a classroom for mentally disabled children run by teacher Dr. James B. Richards. Elwyn was impressed with Richards' work and resolved to do something similar in Pennsylvania. In 1852, with Richards, Elwyn established a training school for mentally disabled people in Germantown, Pennsylvania. In 1853, the Pennsylvania State Legislature formally chartered "The Pennsylvania Training School for Feeble-Minded Children" with Richards as its first superintendent in Germantown. The school soon outgrew its facilities in Germantown, and in 1857 a farm was purchased in

Media, Pennsylvania Media is a borough in and the county seat of Delaware County, Pennsylvania. It is located about west of Philadelphia, the sixth most populous city in the nation with 1.6 million residents as 2020. It is part of the Delaware Valley metropolita ...

to house a new facility with help from the Pennsylvania legislature. The buildings were completed in 1859 and Elwyn, Richards, and 25 students moved in on September 1, 1859. The school was officially dedicated November 2, 1859 and industrialist John P. Crozer spoke at the ceremony. Elwyn became head of the school in 1870. Dr. Isaac N. Kerlin was superintendent of Elwyn in the early 20th century and was a proponent of sterilization procedures on those with intellectual disabilities. 98 sterilization procedures (59 males - 39 females) were conducted at Elwyn over the course of a ten-year period. Elwyn has over 5,000 employees. In 2018, Elwyn served over 24,000 people with over 1,000 in group homes.

Locations

*Elwyn, founded 1852. **

, Main facility, established in 1859. **

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

, established in 1982. **

Wilmington, Delaware Wilmington ( Lenape: ''Paxahakink /'' ''Pakehakink)'' is the largest city in the U.S. state of Delaware. The city was built on the site of Fort Christina, the first Swedish settlement in North America. It lies at the confluence of the Christina ...

, established in 1974. **

Vineland, New Jersey Vineland is a city in Cumberland County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the city had a total population of 60,780. The Census Bureau's Population Estimates Program calculated that the city's population was 61,156 ...

Vineland Training School The Vineland Training School is a non-profit organization in Vineland, New Jersey with the mission of educating people with developmental disabilities so they can live independently. It has been a leader in research and testing. The Training Scho ...

, established 1888, merged with Elwyn in 1988. *Elwyn California, independent affiliate, established in 1974. **

Fountain Valley, California Fountain Valley is a suburban city in Orange County, California. The population was 57,047 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. History The area encompassing Fountain Valley was originally inhabited by the Tongva people. Europea ...

Torrance, California Torrance is a city in the Los Angeles metropolitan area located in Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, California, United States. The city is part of what is known as the South Bay (Los Angeles County), South Bay region of the m ...

Israel Elwyn Israel Elwyn (IE) () is an Israeli nonprofit organization that provides services and programs for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. It serves over 5,100 people from all age groups. The goal of the organization is to create a ...

, independent, former affiliate, established in 1984.

References

External links

Elwyn website
*[http://dla.library.upenn.edu/dla/pacscl/ead.html?fq=repository_facet%3A%22Elwyn%20Historical%20Archives%20and%20Museum%22&id=PACSCL_SMREP_ELW02 Elwyn records 1852-2006, Philadelphia Area Archives Research Portal (PAARP)]
Free Library of Philadelphia - Image of Pennsylvania Training School for Feeble-Minded Children
{{Coord, 39.912, -75.411, region:US-PA_type:edu, display=title Educational institutions established in 1852 Eugenics organizations Special schools in the United States 1852 establishments in Pennsylvania

History

Locations

See also

References

External links