History of the Bangor Children's Home

 Bangor Children's Home/Hilltop School has a rich history of taking care of children.  In 1835, a group of women met as a sewing circle in Bangor, Maine.  It was their original plan to form an organization to aid women who had or were in danger of falling into moral ill-repute. Ultimately, they decided to help destitute girls instead.  They established the Bangor Female Orphan Asylum in 1836, an institution open to orphaned, abandoned and destitute girls from throughout the region.  Along the way, it gave shelter to hundreds of girls.  After 1869, shelter was also offered to boys.  Located first on Fourth Street, the institution regularly took in and placed out for adoption and service children from throughout the region. The children, known for a hundred years as inmates, within those walls found shelter and care at a time when their only other option might have been the local poorhouse or the streets.  In 1869, the Bangor Orphan Asylum moved to a new location on Ohio Street and changed its name to Bangor Children's Home.  Changes in local, state and federal social services lead to the end of the residential program by 1975 and in the late twentieth century a change was made to a day-care center and school.  

 We would love the opportunity to show you our beautiful mansard roof, Victorian building and tell you about our program. We do offer tours for anyone interested in seeing our facility and for individuals who have a connection to the orphanage. For staffing reasons, tours must be scheduled ahead of time.

*Historical Information obtained from The Inmates and the Asylum The Bangor Children's Home 1835-2002, Trudy Irene Scee.