The Woodmen's Circle Home (1920-2022)
Introduction
Text-to-speech Audio
The Woodmen’s Circle Home was built by the Woodmen's Insurance Company in the mid-1920s to serve as an orphanage and a “dormitory for widowed women.” Dora Alexander Talley, one of its founding members, was the driving force behind the building of the Woodmen's Circle Home. The building was home to 100 children and 165 women until its closing in the 1960s. After years of being vacant, the historic structure was demolished in 2022.
Images
The original beneficiary certificate.
A photo of the building from its start in the early 1900s.
Front view of the building.
Backstory and Context
Text-to-speech Audio
The Woodmen’s Circle Home was built by the Woodmen's Insurance Company in the mid-1920s to serve as an orphanage and a “dormitory for widowed women.”1 Dora Alexander Talley, one of its founding members, was the driving force behind the building of the Woodmen's Circle Home. It was known for being the first company to offer life insurance for women and provide a home for them in their time of need. The building was home to 100 children and 165 women until its closing in the 1960s. Despite it being abandoned for decades and falling into disrepair, the Woodmen’s Circle Home was still an important Sherman landmark and many shared fond memories leading up to its 2022 demolition.
In 1927, the Supreme Woodmen's Circle acquired land in Sherman, guided by early president Dora Alexander Talley. The administration building was dedicated, and the home was opened with a handful of residents, including Lee & Edith Carmichael and Edwin, Sadie, Robert & Lillian Puliam in 1930. By 1935, there were 50 children living there, but that number fell to 4 in 1948 and only 8 more children were taken in from 1948 onward. By 1965, only two children, Brandon and Sharon Moe, remained at the home. The founding organization merged into the Woodmen of the World insurance company. 2
Those who operated the Woodmen Circle Home during its opening years worked to make sure the children and women who lived there had food, clothing, and opportunities for education and recreation. According to Lynette George Herald Democrat, the women who worked here provided a positive atmosphere around the orphanage and its inhabitants, and, "in return, all [children] had chores such as helping in the garden, with the animals, keeping the grounds and home immaculate.”3
Sources
1 Hostetter, Alaena. "A Hauntingly Beautiful Abandoned Orphanage Becomes the Set of a Music Video." Dallas Observer. Last modified January 27, 2017. https://www.dallasobserver.com/music/a-hauntingly-beautiful-abandoned-orphanage-becomes-the-set-of-a-music-video-9118890.
2 Vollrath, Lisa. "The Woodmen's Circle Home in Sherman, Texas." Exemplore. Last modified September 18, 2010. https://exemplore.com/paranormal/woodmens-circle-home.
3 Lynette George Herald Democrat. "Woodmen Circle Home Still Draws Interest." Herald Democrat. Accessed November 24, 2018. https://www.heralddemocrat.com/lifestyle/20170204/woodmen-circle-home-still-draws-interest.
Pictures:
"R/urbanexploration - Abandoned Home for Elderly Women and Orphanage. Woodmen Circle Home. Sherman, Tx." Reddit. Accessed December 5, 2018. https://www.reddit.com/r/urbanexploration/comments/7l6z18/abandoned_home_for_elderly_women_and_orphanage/.
"Grayson County TXGenWeb." Welcome to Our Site. Accessed December 5, 2018. http://usgenwebsites.org/TXGrayson/ANewLand/Places/WoodmenCircleHome/WoodmenCircleHome.html.