Orphan Train -

: By 1890, over 150,000 miles of track were used to transport these children.

The was a massive social experiment in the United States that relocated an estimated 250,000 orphaned, abandoned, and homeless children from crowded Eastern cities to rural homes in the Midwest and West. Lasting from 1854 to 1929, it is widely considered the precursor to the modern American foster care system. Core History & Origins Orphan Train

: In the mid-19th century, cities like New York and Boston faced a crisis of "street children"—tens of thousands of homeless youth living in poverty, often turning to crime or facing starvation. : By 1890, over 150,000 miles of track

: The book intertwines the story of Vivian, a 91-year-old former "Orphan Train rider," with Molly, a contemporary foster teen. Core History & Origins : In the mid-19th

: In 1853, Charles Loring Brace founded the Children's Aid Society . He believed that taking children out of "vile" urban environments and placing them with hardworking farm families would give them a better chance at becoming moral, productive citizens.