Baton Rouge — The Old Governor’s Mansion will host a special presentation by the Louisiana Orphan Train Museum at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday, August 4. This free event, “Louisiana Orphan Trains: America’s Forgotten Journey of Hope and Hardship,” will feature presentations by Martha Aubert, President of the Louisiana Orphan Train Society, and board member James Douget.
The Orphan Train Movement of the mid-1800s was a mass relocation of orphaned children from eastern American cities to more rural communities in the South, Midwest, and West. By 1929, an estimated 200,000 children were relocated across the country by rail.
Aubert is the granddaughter of train rider Emily Kingsley Bergeron Von Bodungen, and Douget is the nephew of train riders Christina Geitz Douget West and Dominic Yenley Douget. The Louisiana Orphan Train Museum will have photographs on display and a reception will immediately follow the presentations.
