For this month’s episode of Archive Dive, we examine the children's homes of Superior.

Their history traces back to the Pattison brothers. The city's most recognizable children's home is Fairlawn Mansion, which was built by Martin Pattison.

Following Martin's death, his wife Grace gifted the mansion to the Children's Home and Refuge Association, which had formed in the early 1900s. It served as a children's home for 42 years.

The family home of Martin’s brother, William Pattison, was also used to care for orphans. It would eventually grow into St. Joseph's Children’s Home (also known as St. Joseph's Orphan Home).

In this episode, Telegram reporter Maria Lockwood is joined by local historian and retired librarian Teddie Meronek as they dive into the stories and histories of these homes, which helped children who had a troubled home life or who had lost their parents.

There were children’s homes in the city prior to St. Joseph’s and the Superior Children’s Home and Refuge Association, but they all eventually morphed into those two entities. Fairlawn closed as a children’s home in 1962 and St. Joseph’s closed as a the following year.

Why were children’s homes no longer needed?

“Part of it was the population of the children's home,” said Meronek. “They were decreasing and these were both two huge buildings. The other thing was that the state of Wisconsin stepped in and had rules now that they couldn't take in children of a certain age. They needed to be in a foster home and they were really encouraging fostering for kids rather than putting them in these homes, so that was why they ended up closing.”

Lockwood and Meronek also discuss the “smaller Fairlawn,” how the Pattison family became involved with helping area youth, how funding was raised, the characteristics of the children’s chapel at St. Joseph’s, how the historic Fairlawn Mansion was saved, what happened to the St. Joseph’s building, and more.

New episodes of Archive Dive are published monthly. Listen wherever you get your podcasts. Episodes are edited and produced by Duluth Media Group digital producers Wyatt Buckner and Dan Williamson. If you have an idea for a topic you’d like to see covered, email Maria Lockwood at [email protected].