[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 163 (2017), Part 6]
[Senate]
[Pages 8439-8440]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




             RECOGNIZING THE NATIONAL ORPHAN TRAIN COMPLEX

 Mr. ROBERTS. Mr. President, I would like to acknowledge an 
important event in our history, the Orphan Train Movement. This 
movement is not only extremely important to Kansas; it also placed 
approximately 250,000 orphaned, abandoned, and homeless children in 
homes across the United States. The National Orphan Train Complex, 
which is headquartered in our very own Concordia, KS--also known as 
Orphan Train Town--continues to tell stories of children who were 
impacted by these orphan trains.
  The first orphan train arrived in Kansas in 1859 to the city of 
Wathena, where three children were placed with Kansas families. Since 
this first train, 12,000 children were moved to Kansas

[[Page 8440]]

homes. These children would grow up in Kansas, raising families, 
growing the economy, and serving their communities through farming, 
teaching, and starting businesses. These children and their journey are 
an integral part of Kansas history.
  The mission of the National Orphan Train Complex in Concordia, KS, is 
to collect, preserve, interpret, and disseminate knowledge about the 
orphan trains and the children who rode them. The National Orphan Train 
Complex is the only organization compiling a master list of orphan 
train riders to assist future generations with genealogical 
information. The tireless work done by this organization deserves 
acknowledgement. I am proud to recognize the 15th annual celebration of 
Orphan Train Riders, which takes place June 1 through June 4.
  I ask my colleagues join me in recognizing the Orphan Train Movement 
and the National Orphan Train Complex on their outstanding research and 
preservation of our Nation's history.

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