Help Preserve Ohio's History

for tomorrow's children

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​History of The Home

In 1869, the Grand Army of the Republic, a veterans' organization of Union soldiers who fought in the American Civil War, established the Ohio Soldiers' and Sailors' Orphans' (OSSO) Home in Xenia, Ohio. In 1870, the State of Ohio assumed control of the home. The Ohio Soldiers' and Sailors' Orphans' Home was originally located in a rented building in Xenia, Ohio. In 1869, Xenia residents provided the GAR with one hundred acres of land to build a permanent facility.Originally, the Ohio Soldiers' and Sailors' Orphans' (OSSO) Home provided Ohio children with a place to live if their fathers were killed in the American Civil War or were left with such disabilities as to prevent them from being able to care for their children. Eventually, the State of Ohio opened this institution to orphans of all military conflicts and the children of all veterans, including ones who had not died on the battlefield. In some cases, the children had not lost their parents. Due to financial difficulties, a veteran and/or his spouse might leave their children at the Ohio Soldiers' and Sailors' Orphans' (OSSO) Home in the care of the State of Ohio. Children at the home received a traditional education, as well as training in various trades, they also received some military training and several of them later joined the armed forces. In 1978, the Ohio Soldiers' and Sailors' Orphans' (OSSO) Home became known as the Ohio Veterans' Children's Home (OVCH). The home officially closed its doors to incoming students in 1995 with the home completely closed in 1997. In 1997, State of Ohio converted the State owned land of the OSSO/OVCH to the Board of Commissioners of Greene County. In August 1999, Legacy Ministries International bought the land, in order to expand the campuses of the Xenia Christian Schools. Since then, this historic site has undergone extensive renovation. Each year the former children of the home gather on the grounds for a reunion and have established a museum on the grounds.