Salem Home for the Aged (Hillsboro, Kansas, USA)
Salem Home for the Aged began on 17 March 1889, when a frame building was dedicated as a "Home for the Friendless." A group of Krimmer Mennonite Brethren (KMB) ministers and laymen of the Gnadenau congregation, with Tobias Martin and Amanda Dohner and other public-minded citizens, agreed to operate an orphans' home 2½ miles southeast of Hillsboro, Kansas. On 23 October 1893, it was decided that a larger building was needed and a four-story stone structure, 40 x 50 feet, was completed and dedicated on 18 October 1896, as the "I[[Industrial School and Hygiene Home for Friendless Persons (Hillsboro, Kansas, USA)|ndustrial School and Hygiene Home for the Friendless]]." The institution owned 105 acres of land. On 10 May 1915, the institution was rechartered as the "Salem Home and Hospital," and rearranged to serve the aged and ill. On 29 April 1944, the building was struck by lightning and completely destroyed by fire and the inmates were moved to the Salem Hospital Annex at Hillsboro. In 1956 a new modern hospital was built at a different site and the entire former Salem Hospital and Annex was converted into a larger home for the aged, known as the "Salem Home for the Aged." The remodeled building was dedicated 3 November 1957. During the late 1950s Mrs. Ed. Penner and Mrs. Frank V. Wiebe were the superintendents of the institution. At the time of dedication the home had 43 inmates. More facilities were to be added. The Salem Home for the Aged is operated by a corporation (Home for the Aged, Inc.) representing seventeen churches of the Hillsboro area, including General Conference Mennonite, Mennonite Brethren, KMB, and non-Mennonite congregations.
| Author(s) | David V Wiebe |
|---|---|
| Date Published | 1959 |
Cite This Article
MLA style
Wiebe, David V. "Salem Home for the Aged (Hillsboro, Kansas, USA)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. 1959. Web. 16 Apr 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Salem_Home_for_the_Aged_(Hillsboro,_Kansas,_USA)&oldid=77338.
APA style
Wiebe, David V. (1959). Salem Home for the Aged (Hillsboro, Kansas, USA). Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 16 April 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Salem_Home_for_the_Aged_(Hillsboro,_Kansas,_USA)&oldid=77338.
Adapted by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 4, p. 404. All rights reserved.
©1996-2024 by the Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. All rights reserved.