ST. JOSEPH'S MALE ORPHAN ASYLUM

St. Joseph's Orphan Asylum dates back to August 1849 in Buffalo, in connection with the establishment of St. Vincent's Female Orphan Asylum. Bishop Timon realized the need for shelter and housing for abandoned children due to the Cholera Epidemic that ravaged through the city in 1848. The original institution was located on Batavia Street (now Broadway, where the central branch of the Buffalo and Erie County Library stands). The children, both boys and girls, were under the charge of the Sisters of Charity.

In 1850, the Sisters wanted to focus on the care for girls and the boys were relocated to Lancaster, and it was incorporated as St. Joseph's Orphan Asylum in 1851. The boys remained in Lancaster until April 19, 1854. Bishop Timon wanted the boys to learn a trade to be able to be self-sufficient later in their lives. In order to provide for this, the forty-seven boys were relocated to a vacant building on Best Street that was occupied by the Sisters of Charity.

The boys were relocated to Limestone Hill by May 7, 1857. A priest with three Sisters of St. Joseph were assigned to supervise and oversee sixty-seven boys in a frame structure. The Sisters received a stipend of twenty-five dollars per year for personal clothing. Due to the meager accommodations, one of the Sisters appealed to the Bishop to solicit for funds from area churches to enlarge the building. She was granted permission to do so. A new three-story building was erected and it was ready for occupancy on November 1, 1857.

The new building accommodated eighty-eight children and the primary occupants were orphans left from the Cholera Epidemics of 1856-1857. If a boy was admitted by the Superintendent of the Poor, the referring county was responsible for paying one dollar per week for the child's care.

A second appeal was launched on June 19, 1859, to the churches within the Diocese which included Rochester to erect another building. Funds were secured and building begun that fall. The new building was completed in July 1860.

A shoe tanning business was started in April 1860 from an idea gained from the Bishop's visit to the Rochester Orphan Asylum. A foreman and three tanners were hired to teach and supervise the boys in learning this trade.

After the Protectory was completed in 1866, boys who required additional supervision and discipline were transferred.

The Asylum’s financial affairs were handled by a Board of Gentlemen.

It was the goal to have children placed out into families as soon as possible. During the year of 1874-1875, the Sisters received fifty children and discharged thirty-five. Seven of the boys were adopted, three were indentured, fifteen were returned to their parents or guardians, and seven were transferred or otherwise transferred.

An inspection by the State Board of Charities was conducted in 1894 and published in 1895. During this time, twelve Sisters from the Order of St. Joseph supervised the children in the Asylum, with the assistance of two lay women. Two nuns slept in each dormitory. A man was also hired to tend to the steam boilers.

Water was supplied by a well and stored in three cisterns. The water was elevated by a windmill to the top of the building. Fire hoses and escapes were available to each floor. Bathtubs and lavatories were supplied with hot and cold water through pipes. Flush closets were available to the boys in the event of sickness.

By this time, no industries were taught due to the ages of the children. Father Baker felt the children were too young to work. The children were between the ages of two and fourteen, with the average age of eight. When children were not in school, they were permitted to play in the covered pavilion in the yard.

Most of children were admitted by their parents or friends. The rest were placed by the City Poor Master or the County Superintendent of the Poor.

In 1916, massive fire caused extensive damage to the Orphanage, the Church and the Our Lady of Victory Elementary School. The Orphanage was rebuilt immediately.

As federal law changed the care of dependent children, the number of the boys placed at the Orphanage dwindled. The Orphanage closed in 1956 and the administration tasks and offices were relocated to the old Orphanage building, now 780 Ridge Road.