Skip to main content

North Idaho Children's Home, Inc. records

 Collection — box-folder: 1/1
Identifier: MG 137

Scope and Contents

The records of NICH span the years from 1908 to 1983 with the bulk of the material covering the years 1912 to 1930; there is little information about the period from 1930 to 1960. The records include scattered correspondence, some of which refers to financial bequests and contracts with Health and Welfare, and annual and monthly reports. The records also contain the minutes of the Board of Directors (1909-1959), as well as several bookkeeping ledgers and the Superintendent's day books. Approximately one quarter of the records consist of photographs. Also included are scrapbooks and printed materials such as NICH promotional literature and newspaper clippings.

Dates

  • Creation: 1908-1984

Language of Materials

English

Conditions Governing Access

Some items are restricted due to confidentiality.

Biographical / Historical

In 1908, a Congregational minister in Lewiston, Charles B. Chase, began taking abused and abandoned children into his home prior to their being placed in foster care. The Idaho Children's Home and Finding Aid Society in Boise had asked his help because of distance and transportation difficulties. Chase quickly found that the number of children sent to him by the courts was more than he could adequately care for himself. In 1909, he and other community leaders formed a permanent organization, the Northern District of the Idaho Children's Home Finding and Aid Society of Boise. Funding for the new organization was provided by several public service organizations such as the Commercial Club of Lewiston and the Women's Clubs in Northern Idaho. The children continued to live with Rev. Chase who was named superintendent (a post he held until 1918). Permanent housing was obtained in 1911, when Hurlbut House was bought for $14,000. This was the home of the organization for more than fifty years.

In 1935, the organization separated from Boise and became the Children's Home Finding and Aid Society of North Idaho, Inc. Following World War II the Children's Home faced financial difficulties stemming from the shift in emphasis from private charity to public responsibility for social services. In the 1960's, large permanent care facilities, such as orphanages and mental hospitals, were increasingly replaced by smaller, more specialized units. The Child Protective Act of 1963 gave responsibility for the placement of dependent children to the Idaho Department of Health (later Health and Welfare). These were functions which had been performed by organizations such as the Children's Home. Because of these changes, the children's home redefined its purpose. No longer an "orphanage," it became a treatment center and temporary home for children who could not stay in their own homes but were not suited for foster care. This change in function eased the Homes' financial crisis. In addition to money from Department of Health contracts, the Home continued to receive private contributions. The George F. Jewett's donated a six-bedroom house, 22 acres of land and fifty thousand dollars to the Children's Home. The move to the Jewett estate was made in 1969.

In 1973, the organization became the North Idaho Children's Home, Inc., (NICH) an organization which continues to provide services for children, much as it did in 1909.

Extent

5 linear feet

Abstract

Administrative and financial records; photographs, scrapbooks and printed material of a Lewiston, Idaho, care facility for children.

Arrangement

Although not all of the material was received in the original folders, the original folder headings were retained where possible. The records of NICH consist of six series. Series I, Correspondence, is concentrated in the earlier period (1912-1930) and deals mostly with bequests and investments. The second series, Administrative, includes Board of Directors' minutes (1909-1959) and administrative and financial reports. Ledgers, the third series, includes cash journals (1908-1940) and two expense ledgers (1925-1940 and 1975-1976). Photos, series 4, is listed in the photo card index as well as in this inventory. The bulk of the photographs is of the period 1960-1980. The fifth series, Scrapbooks, contain five scrapbooks filled with newspaper clippings and the guestbook from a 1949 open house. Printed Material in series six includes the newsletter of NICH, Children's Home Finder and Flashes (1912-1983). A more complete set of the newsletter is part of the Day-Northwest Collection in the University of Idaho Library. This series also contains promotional literature and NICH related materials such as newspaper clippings.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

The records of North Idaho Children's Home, Inc. were donated to the University of Idaho by the Children's Home in August of 1984.

General

Scrapbooks transferred to folders.

Title
North Idaho Children's Home, Inc. Records 1908-1984
Status
Completed
Author
Finding aid prepared by Emmy Lou Forster
Date
©1985
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin
Language of description note
Finding aid is in English
Sponsor
Funding for encoding this finding aid was provided through a grant awarded by the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Repository Details

Part of the University of Idaho Library, Special Collections and Archives Repository