Corsicana State Home (1977)

Created by the 20th Legislature in 1887, the State Orphan Asylum originally provided care for orphans under age 14. State officials located the institution in Corsicana after local citizens donated over 200 acres at this site. The first students arrived in 1889, and by 1890 enrollment totaled 54. Classes met in the chapel before a school building was erected in 1889. By 1897 the institution had an independent school district. Renamed State Orphan Home before 1899, the facility housed about 400 students in 1900. Here they received academic and vocational instruction. The campus once had extensive farmlands to supply food and provide agricultural training for students. Physical facilities were enlarged as enrollment increased. During the Depression of the 1930s, residents numbered over 800. The campus school was phased out at the end of the 1955-56 academic year, and students transferred to Corsicana public schools. In 1957 the home was placed under jurisdiction of the Texas Youth Council and was renamed Corsicana State Home. Thousands of children have benefited from the care and schooling provided by the home. Prominent former students include Robert W. Calvert, Texas Supreme Court Associate Justice, 1950-61, and Chief Justice, 1961-72. (1977)

Corsicana State Home is a historical marker in Corsicana, Navarro County, dedicated in 1977. It is one of 128 historical markers documented in Navarro County in the Texas Historical Commission Atlas, among 218 historic sites cataloged across the county.

The site sits at 32.0795, -96.5089 near Corsicana. The nearest cataloged historic site is Odd Fellow and Rebekah Children's Home (historical marker), about 0.1 miles away. Others within a short drive include Corsicana State Home, 15th Texas Infantry Companies E and G, and Collins, James L..

This record corresponds to Texas Historical Commission Atlas #5349011609. Use the map below for its exact position and turn-by-turn directions.