Marion County Children’s Guardian Home

Not an orphanage, the Marion County Children’s Guardian Home was a shelter for children who were neglected, abused, or abandoned. The program began in 1889, when Indiana created a Board of Children’s Guardians. This was part of the broader Progressive Era movement, which pushed for better social services and protections for vulnerable populations.

Unlike traditional orphanages, the Guardian Home was designed as a temporary emergency shelter, a new concept at the time, focused on rescue and placement rather than long-term institutionalization. Located in Irvington, IN (a current-day neighborhood of Indianapolis), the home closed in 2009.

Children from the Marion County’s Guardian Home were buried in Section 37, Lots 141 and 874. They are unmarked, but the Hearts Remembered Memorial is on this lot.