Over the course of its history, the home housed more than 13,500 orphans of American veterans.
The site, along U.S. 68, just north of U.S. 35, is now owned by faith-based nonprofit Athletes in Action, and the nearby campus is home to the private, non-denominational K-12 school Legacy Christian Academy.
“We are grateful to be the stewards of the legacy, of the story of what this campus has been since the home was started in the 1870s,” said Mark Householder, president of Athletes in Action. “As we’re trying to make a difference in this world, we’ll think about this chapel as the bedrock and the cornerstone of everything we do.”
In a video address, Gov. Mike DeWine said that the property would continue to be a historic landmark and the fixture in the lives of children.
“For more than a century, the Home shaped children into productive adults. And though the home closed in 1995, it’s not really gone,” DeWine said. “Children are still learning, growing, laughing and playing here.”
Renovation was handled by HB Construction. Work included exterior brick repairs, rebuilding the chapel’s stained glass windows, and structural repairs in the floors, as well as improvements to HVAC systems and amenities. Construction was supported by $400,000 in state funding, as well as hundreds of individual contributors, many of them former Home students.
Bill Chavanne, a former student of the Home, has raised over $1 million for the organizations that now sit on the school property.
“It has a lot of character. When you have a rich history, 140 years of caring for the marginalized or the fatherless, there’s a spirit of care on this campus,” said Athletes in Action’s Eric Nelson.
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