On this land stood Ivakota Farm, founded as a Progressive Era reform school and home for unwed mothers and their children. In 1915 Ella Shaw donated her 264-acre farm to the National Florence Crittenton Mission (NFCM). Named for the states where she had lived—Iowa, Virginia and North Dakota—Ivakota provided a rural setting for inspirational, physical, domestic and religious education primarily for delinquent girls. Social reformer and NFCM president Dr. Kate Waller Barrett oversaw the program until her death in 1925. Ivakota included a school, nursery, health clinic, dormitories, a commercial farm and a cemetery. After leasing to charitable organizations NFCM sold the land in 1962.
Comments 0 comments