Overview

St. Joseph Bohemian Orphanage was established by Benedictine monks on November 15, 1898 in Lisle, DuPage County, Illinois.[1] Before this, the Polish and Bohemian orphans were house in St. Stanislaus Parish Orphanage in Chicago.[2] The Benedictine Fathers of St. Procopius Abbey donated several acres of land near Lisle, and the farm house, for an orphanage.[3]

            The orphanage opened on March 18, 1898 with twelve children: six were Bohemian, three were Slovack, and three were Slovenian.[4] By 1910, the institution erected enough buildings to accommodate 150 children.[5]

            On June 5, 1912, the institution was reincorporated as the Lisle Industrial School for Girls and the Lisle Manual Training School for Boys.[6] The children were under the care of the Bohemian Benedictine Sisters since its founding in 1898.[7]

            In 1956, the orphanage closed and the building became a boy’s high school: St. Procopius Academy.[8] It is now Benet Academy.

Joseph’s Bohemian Orphanage

Alternative Names: Czech Orphanage

Type of Institution: Orphanage

Street Address: 2200 Maple Avenue

Locality: Lisle

County: DuPage

State: Illinois

Alternative Address: 1641 Allport Street, Chicago, Illinois

• Note: This is the address of the administrative headquarters

Date of Founding: 15 Nov 1898

Date of Name, Place, or Mission Change, or Merger: 1912

Date of Overall Closure: 1956

Dates of Operation at This Address Under This Name with the Same Mission: 15 Nov 1898-1912

After Change See: Lisle Manual Training School for Boys and Lisle Manual Training School for Girls

Administration: Sisters of St. Benedict

Intake Gender/Sex: Female and Male

Intake Age: older than 2; 3 to 14 years

Intake Ethnicity/Race: 1910: Bohemian, Slavonic Descent

Intake Religion:

Intake Specifics: 1910: Orphan, Dependent

Lisle Industrial Training School for Girls

Alternative Names: Czech Orphanage, Lisle Industrial School for Girls

Type of Institution: Industrial School, Orphanage

Street Address: 2200 Maple Avenue

Locality: Lisle

County: DuPage

State: Illinois

Alternative Address: 1641 Allport Street, Chicago, Illinois

• Note: This is the address of the administrative headquarters

Date of Institution Founding: 15 Nov 1898

Date of Name, Place, or Mission Change, or Merger:

Date of Overall Closure: 1956

Dates of Operation at This Address Under This Name with the Same Mission: 1912-1956

After Change See:

Administration: Sisters of St. Benedict

Intake Gender/Sex: Female

Intake Age: 1923: 2-18 years

Intake Ethnicity/Race: 1923: White

Intake Religion:

Intake Specifics:

Lisle Manual Training School for Boys

Alternative Names: Czech Orphanage

Type of Institution: Industrial School, Orphanage

Street Address: 2200 Maple Avenue

Locality: Lisle

County: DuPage

State: Illinois

Alternative Address: 1641 Allport Street, Chicago, Illinois

• Note: This is the address of the administrative headquarters

Date of Institution Founding: 15 Nov 1898

Date of Name, Place, or Mission Change, or Merger:

Date of Overall Closure: 1956

Dates of Operation at This Address Under This Name with the Same Mission: 1912-1956

After Change See:

Administration: Sisters of St. Benedict

Intake Gender/Sex: Male

Intake Age: 1923: 2-14 years

Intake Ethnicity/Race: 1923: White

Intake Religion:

Intake Specifics:

Records

FindAGrave: St. Joseph’s Bohemian Orphanage Cemetery is located on the grounds of what is now Benet Academy: FindAGrave: https://www.findagrave.com/cemetery/2361143/benet-academy-cemetery.

“Souvenir of St. Joseph’s Bohemian Orphanage, Lisle, DuPage County, Illinois,” Allen County Genealogy Center. https://www.genealogycenter.info/search_benetacademy.php.

Records may be kept in the Diocese of Joliet. Contact them for more information: https://www.dioceseofjoliet.org/ct/sectioncontent.php?secid=2

1910 U.S. Federal Census

Sources

Benevolent Institutions 1910. Prepared by Department of Commerce: Bureau of the Census. Washington: Governmental Printing Office. 1913. https://books.google.com/books?id=fmgGAQAAIAAJ.

Children Under Institutional Care. Prepared by the Bureau of the Census. Washington, D.C.: Governmental Printing Office. 1927. https://play.google.com/store/books/details?id=PFXZTGK-ZyAC&rdid=book-PFXZTGK-ZyAC&rdot=1.

Sister Mary Agatha Allison, “A Study of the Catholic Institutions for Dependent Children in the Archdiocese of Chicago Emphasizing Vocational Education,” Loyola University (1933).

Sixth Annual Report of the Department Visitation of Children Placed in Family Homes, Board of Administration of the State of Illinois, For the Year Ending December 31, 1911. 1914. Springfield, Illinois: Illinois State Journal Co., State Printers. https://www.google.com/books/edition/Report_for_of_the_Department_Visitation/e1I9AQAAMAAJ.

“St Joseph Bohemian Orphanage and Chapel,” John A Mallin, https://johnamallin.com/project/st-joseph-bohemian-orphanage-chapel/.

“The Story of US Orphanages: Illinois.” Former Children’s Homes. Accessed on 23 July 2022. http://www.formerchildrenshomes.org.uk/illinois.html.

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[1] Sister Mary Agatha Allison, “A Study of the Catholic Institutions for Dependent Children in the Archdiocese of Chicago Emphasizing Vocational Education,” Loyola University (1933), 31.

[2] Sister Mary Agatha Allison, “A Study of the Catholic Institutions for Dependent Children in the Archdiocese of Chicago Emphasizing Vocational Education,” Loyola University (1933), 31.

[3] Sister Mary Agatha Allison, “A Study of the Catholic Institutions for Dependent Children in the Archdiocese of Chicago Emphasizing Vocational Education,” Loyola University (1933), 31.

[4] Sister Mary Agatha Allison, “A Study of the Catholic Institutions for Dependent Children in the Archdiocese of Chicago Emphasizing Vocational Education,” Loyola University (1933), 31.

[5] Sister Mary Agatha Allison, “A Study of the Catholic Institutions for Dependent Children in the Archdiocese of Chicago Emphasizing Vocational Education,” Loyola University (1933), 31.

[6] Sister Mary Agatha Allison, “A Study of the Catholic Institutions for Dependent Children in the Archdiocese of Chicago Emphasizing Vocational Education,” Loyola University (1933), 31.

[7] Sister Mary Agatha Allison, “A Study of the Catholic Institutions for Dependent Children in the Archdiocese of Chicago Emphasizing Vocational Education,” Loyola University (1933), 31.

[8] “St Joseph Bohemian Orphanage and Chapel,” John A Mallin, https://johnamallin.com/project/st-joseph-bohemian-orphanage-chapel/.