John and Emaline Bashor had a dream – that children would always have a safe place to go. To fulfill their dream, they donated land and a large farmhouse to the deaconess movement of the Methodist Episcopal Church and thereby founded, in 1927, the Bashor Deaconess Orphanage.
Bashor Children's Home of the U.M. Church, located at 62226 County Road 15, a few miles northwest of Goshen, provides a wide range of services for children. A timeline on display in the foyer of the Community Resource Center tells the story. After operating for some years, this "safe place for children" briefly closed during World War II but reopened in 1950 as an orphanage for boys. In 1969, the Home experienced a period of rapid growth as it adapted to the changing needs of the community. Two years later, four residential cottages and an administration building had been completed.
An Emergency Shelter Care program for boys and girls was added in 1977. In the 1980s, the Bergwall school and activities center was completed, and remedial education programs for junior and senior high students, including girls, were started. The 1990s saw the addition of new buildings and services, including a drug and alcohol additions program for adolescents. More recently, outdoor recreation facilities and new or remodeled buildings have been added, making the Home a bright, attractive, and well-staffed residential center for troubled young people. It also operates a full-time school for children from the campus and the community.
An additional historical attraction is the cornerstone of the old Bashor M.E. Chapel on display in the headquarters building of the Home. It reads: "Bashor Chapel M.E. Church, 1892; C. C. Albertson, Organizer; G. M. Hemphill, Pastor." On the wall nearby are portraits of John and Emaline Bashor, who personally set the cornerstone on their property in that year. The cornerstone and a crumbling foundation are all that remain of the Chapel.
GPS 41 35 27.61, -85 54 18.11