Daily AncestorHouse of refuge
A house of refuge was an early reform institution for young offenders and vagrant children, meant to keep them out of adult jails.
The New York House of Refuge, run by the Society for the Reformation of Juvenile Delinquents, opened in 1824 as the first juvenile reformatory in the United States. It moved to Randalls Island in 1854 and closed in 1935.
The New York Juvenile Asylum was founded in 1851 for non-delinquent children who might otherwise be sent to a house of refuge with criminals. New York's Western House of Refuge was later renamed the State Industrial School, a sign of the shift toward reform schools.
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Daily Ancestor. "House of refuge." Dictionary of Old Record Words. https://dailyancestor.com/dictionary/poor-relief/house-of-refuge. Last checked 2026-10-03.