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The Solution
As a result of that
need, the Decatur and Macon County Welfare Home for Girls was formed
in 1916 by a group of Decatur women.
The
Girls' Home - Webster Hall
 It wasn't until
November, 1919 that the Home opened with prayers and a concert by
the Conklin Mandolin Orchestra. This was a huge event, due
mainly to the tremendous undertaking of the citizens of the
community to provide a place for "...75 friendless and deserving
girls." The ages of the girls ranged from babies to teenagers
and they either did not have any parents or parents who could look after
them.
The Home, which later
became known as the Girl's Welfare Home and finally Webster Hall,
was located in a huge, beautiful, four story building on the corner
of South Broadway (which is now Martin Luther King) and Cantrell
Streets. It was originally built as a German athletic hall. |
A
few years after the opening of the Girls' Home, the Decatur/Macon
County Opportunity Home for Boys was formed. This was in
response to the need of a place for orphaned boys.
Two
months after the newspaper article, a nine room farmhouse and five
acres of land located at 1942 East Cantrell Street was donated.
The house did not have running water or indoor bathrooms, but it did have
a furnace and electricity. Many years later it would become
known as Cantrell Hall and was often referred to as "the Boys' Home."
In
October 1923, in a place really too small, the Home housed 21 boys,
with the youngest being 5 years old. The original farmhouse
was replaced in 1927 with what is now used as the current
administration building of Webster-Cantrell Hall.