Elwyn Inc.

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Elwyn, Inc. is the second oldest care facility for the mentally disabled in the United States, established in 1852.^[1] Elwyn Inc. is located in Elwyn, Pennsylvania, in Middletown Township, Delaware County, Pennsylvania. It has had a variety of names over its history, including the "Pennsylvania Training School for Feeble-minded Children". In 1966, it became the "Elwyn Institute".

Elwyn is named for its founder, Dr. Alfred L. Elwyn, a Pennsylvania nonpracticing physician and philanthropist.

[edit] History

Elwyn travelled to Boston for a meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in 1849. He had promised to take a letter from Rachel Laird, a blind girl living in Philadelphia, to Laura Bridgman (December 21, 1829–May 24, 1889), who was a famous blind deaf mute in Boston. Bridgman was studying at the South Boston Institute for the Blind, and while there Elwyn visited a classroom for mentally deficient children run by teacher Dr. James Richards.

Elwyn was impressed with Richards' work, and resolved to do something similar in Pennsylvania. In 1852, with Richards, Elwyn established a training school for the retarded in Germantown, Pennsylvania. In 1853, the Pennsylvania State Legislature formally chartered "The Pennsylvania Training School for Feeble-Minded Children" with Richards as its first superintendent in Germantown. The school soon outgrew its facilities in Germantown, and in 1857 a 60 acre farm was purchased in Media, Pennsylvania to house a new facility with help from the Pennsylvania legislature. The buildings were completed in 1859 and Elwyn, Richards, and 25 students moved in on September 1, 1859. The school was officially dedicated November 2, 1859.

In 1870, Dr. Elwyn became President of the Elwyn School. The West Chester and Philadelphia Railroad had a nearby stop called the "Greenwood" stop, but local residents called it the "Elwyn Station". The nearby community also become known as "Elwyn".