A Storied History
Barracks at the Soldiers Home, early 1900s.
Aside from its residents’ stories, the Washington Soldiers Home and Colony has quite an impressive background itself. (Click here for a link to its Web site.)
The photos and text on this page are taken from a packet given to prospective residents and visitors during tours of the Home. Here are some of the Home’s historic highlights:
The photos and text on this page are taken from a packet given to prospective residents and visitors during tours of the Home. Here are some of the Home’s historic highlights:
- "The law establishing the Washington Soldiers Home was part of the Washington State Constitution written in 1889. Section 3, Soldiers Home, Article X Militia 3/26/89 states: ‘The Legislature shall provide by law for the maintenance of a soldiers home for honorably discharged Union soldiers, sailors, marines, and members of the state militia disabled while in the line of duty, who are bona fide citizens of the United States.’"
- "Orting was selected as the location of the Soldiers Home based partially on the fact that the major railroads of the period came through Orting."
- "The Soldiers Home was dedicated in March 1891, and the first member admitted four months later, on July 4, 1891."
- "Within a few years, the Soldiers Home was filled to capacity."
- "The Colony portion of the Washington Soldiers Home was created by the State Legislature in 1905 to allow families of Home members to live nearby."
- During the Depression, several local service groups banded together to provide a radio to "occupy and entertain" the residents.
The Soldiers Home during the 1890s.