Gore Orphanage

(Location: Near Vermillion, Ohio, Lorain County)

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Legend: Gore Orphanage was originally a mansion built in 1840 by Jonathan Swift. Years later, it became the Light of Hope Orphanage, where many children learned farm and agricultural skills. The owner, Jonathan Swift, was widely known for his terrible demeanor and cruel treatment of the children. He was rumored to have killed many of them before putting their remains into the fireplace. One night, long after the orphanage had fallen into disuse, the mansion was set on fire and the children's screams could be heard for miles around. The fire was rumored to have been started by Jonathan Swift  It is said that if you go to the building's foundation today, you can still hear the sound of children screaming or pleading for help, the great door of Swift's mansion opening and closing, and the footsteps of Jonathan Swift.

Truth And History:  Light of Hope Orphanage
    Reverend John Sprunger, a Lutheran minister from Bern, Indiana, bought many abandoned farms in 1902 and set up the Light of Hope Orphanage. It was funded by his congregation and the good will of others. The institution was created to teach orphans the value of hard work and train them in farming and housework. It operated uneventfully for twelve years.
    After Sprunger's death, the orphanage fell into disarray and never recovered from personal or financial loss. It was soon bankrupt and disbanded, and the children were relocated. Legend relates that one of the dormitories may have burned down and an unknown number of children died, but local historians dispute this ever happening, and that it is simply a mistaken tie-in with the incidents at Swift's Hollow. However, its location on Gore Orphanage Road, and the fact that it was an orphanage, supplied the title for the legend.

    Info On this location is not hard to find. With the readiness of this information I find it hard to see how anyone could be fooled by this "Urban Legend" We where even able to locate adoption and population records from this orphanage.

Here is an excerpt from the populating list. All of the Factual information on this site can be found at Vermilion Ohio Website