Methodist Home, The

The General Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, appointed the Rev. Joseph S. Key as Bishop for the Northwest Texas Conference of the denomination in 1890. Bishop Key, who had previously worked with methodist orphanages in Georgia, saw an immediate need for a similar institution in Texas. With the help of the Rev. Dr. Horace Bishop, Pastor of Waco's Fifth Street Methodist Church (now First United Methodist), Key secured the 27-acre Emily W. Martin estate and large Miller Family residence at this site for an orphanage. The Rev. W.H. Vaughn served as the Methodist Home's first administrator. The first orphan was welcomed in April 1894, and by the end of that year the home was caring for twenty-six children. As the number of programs and residents increased, the campus was enlarged and additional buildings were erected. By the 1920s the home instituted vocational and college training programs. In the later 1930s cottages replaced dormitory housing and a chapel was built at the highest point on the campus. An associated boys' ranch opened east of the main campus in 1971 and in recent years programs have expanded to include community counseling and foster care.

Methodist Home, The is a historical marker in Waco, McLennan County, dedicated in 1990. It is one of 198 historical markers documented in McLennan County in the Texas Historical Commission Atlas, among 224 historic sites cataloged across the county.

The site sits at 31.5698, -97.1550 near Waco. The nearest cataloged historic site is Earle-Harrison House (historical marker), about 0.4 miles away. Others within a short drive include Proctor Springs, Johnson-Taylor House, and Texas Christian University, Old Site of.

This record corresponds to Texas Historical Commission Atlas #5309005379. Use the map below for its exact position and turn-by-turn directions.