Vigo County Historical Society

Alden’s legacy key to Rose Home

Three thousand children called Rose Orphan Home their own home between its opening in 1884 and closing in 1949. If there is a single institution to which Terre Haute can point with pride it was Rose Orphan Home. It stood without an equal in the country and was a model of its kind in the care of little ones left without a mother or father.

Rose Home was funded with an endowment of $150,000 from one of the greatest philanthropists of Terre Haute and a humanitarian--Mr. Chauncey Rose. Twenty acres of prized land was acquired at the corner of 25th Street and Wabash Avenue to build this home, which consisted of eight beautiful brick and stone buildings and cottages surrounded by lawn and gardens. Before even the construction was started the board invited Mr. Lyman Alden (Mr. Ernest’s father) to accept the position of the superintendent as he had considerable experience and he held the same position in Michigan Public Schools in Coldwater for the past eight years.

On Jan. 1, 1884, he moved to Terre Haute with his wife and three children, Ernest, Eva and Jessie. He comes from an illustrious family and was the direct descendant of John Alden who came to Plymouth, Mass., by Mayflower in 1620. Alden Family produced four presidents. President John Adams was one of the descendants claimed for John Alden.

Lyman Alden supervised the construction of this home. When he began to accept the children he set up a very high standard for their well-being not only physically, but also for their moral and emotional developments. Their ages range from 2 to 18. They will go from kindergarten to eighth grade to their own school and then to public schools. He continued his work with great success for the next 20 years.

After his father’s death, his worthy son Ernest G. Alden took over his position and remained there for the next 44 years until his retirement. He and his wife Katherine had three daughters and they always lived in the main building. His wife was also a great help to Rose Home. They made many improvements like indoor plumbing, tile floors, electricity, and made kitchen gardens for fresh vegetables and bought prized Holstein cows for fresh milk. Upon entering, each child was weighed, measured, photographed, and put under a physician’s care.

The children were reared in this home under their loving care and many of them became productive citizens like lawyers, doctors, teachers, writers and politicians. One of their residents was Ralph Tucker who became the mayor of Terre Haute. In honor of Mr. Alden one of the cottages of Glenn Home was named "Alden Hall."

Mr. Alden resigned in 1947 due to poor health and died in 1958. The home was closed by 1950 and later was used as the home for the aged until 1965. In 1966, the whole structure was razed to make way for K-Mart Plaza (east).

The Historical Museum of the Wabash Valley, 1411 S. Sixth St., is open from 1 to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday.