Shortly after the death of her husband Martin, in 1918,  Grace E. Pattison donated Fairlawn to the Superior Children's Home and Refuge Association to be used as a place of shelter for children in need of care.  From its opening in 1920 until it closed in 1962, over 2,000 children lived at Fairlawn Mansion.

Most of these children were not orphans, but for a variety of reasons their families could not care for them. They found a safe haven at the Children's Home.  It may not be Fairlawn's most glamorous era, but the mansion served a very vital purpose in the lives of many families in the community and Superior Public Museums thinks it's important to recognize this unique aspect of Fairlawn Mansion's history.

Today, the children of SCHRA are honored in an exhibit on the third floor of Fairlawn, The Superior Children's Home and Refuge: Presenting Their Stories. The exhibit currently contains quotes from interviews with some former children's home residents, pictures, and artifacts.

Research continues and in 2008 Superior Public Museums received a grant to establish the Children's Home Project.

Grace E. Pattison

If you lived or worked at Fairlawn Mansion between 1920 and 1962 and you would like to share your memories with us, or if you can put us in contact with any former Children's Home residents or employees, please contact Sara Jackson at (715) 394-5712 or email info@superiorpublicmuseums.org

The newest garden to be installed on the grounds of Fairlawn Mansion is the largest yet, beginning just north of the carriage entrance and incorporating a shady grove of existing trees and shrubs behind the gift shop.

Thanks to generous donations from the family and friends of Ann Richtman, who passed away in 2005, this long awaited garden is becoming a reality.  The Children's Garden is dedicated to Richtman, a Superior resident and long-time advocate of children in our community.  The garden also memorializes the 2,000 children who lived at the mansion during its 42 years as the Superior Children's Home and Refuge.

When complete, the Children's Garden at Fairlawn will include child size benches, a mosaic hopscotch board, and life-size kangaroo topiary and tea table and chairs.

Another very distinctive aspect of this garden is the children's book which tells the fictional tale of five-year-old Betsy and her stay at the Children's Home during the WWII era.  Written by Judith Liebaert and illustrated by Sara Jackson, staff members of Superior Public Museums, the story interweaves historical aspects of the mansion with a whimsical tale of an imaginary kangaroo and a secret garden that only the children can enter.

The book is available for purchase.  Copies will be sold in the Fairlawn gift shop and on the web site.

Mrs. Roo & Packy
from
Oatmeal for Breakfast
by
Judith Liebaert & Sara Jackson