The story below is from our November/December 2024 issue. For more stories like it, Subscribe Today. Thank you!
The site for Andrew Lewis Middle School was once home to Salem’s historic Lutheran Orphanage, serving children for over a century.
Ana Morales / Archival Image Courtesy of The Virginia Room, Roanoke Public Libraries
A historic Salem site has been a place for children to learn and grow for more than 100 years.
In 1896, the Lutheran Orphanage opened in Salem inside a brick house at Florida Avenue and Boulevard.
Four years later, the orphanage relocated to the site of the former Hotel Salem on College Avenue, which is pictured here. This was a five-story, red brick building that resembled a castle with towers, arched windows and turrets.
According to historic records, it was one of two orphanages that came to Salem in the late 1800s. The other was a Baptist orphanage. Orphanages were common at the time because war and various deadly diseases, such as tuberculosis, typhoid and malaria, left many children without their parents.
The Lutheran Orphanage remained at its College Avenue location for at least seven years, and over time housed more than 100 children. It even operated a school on its campus, though eventually it integrated children into Salem public schools.
The orphanage closed in 1932, and its building was razed.
Now you’ll find Andrew Lewis Middle School at the orphanage site. Andrew Lewis originally was built as a high school in 1933, and after 44 years, its students moved to the new Salem High School.
The story above is from our November/December 2024 issue. For more stories like it, Subscribe Today. Thank you!