Thompson Orphanage Chapel
(ca. 1892)
Officially known as the Memorial Chapel of St. Mary the Virgin, the chapel is the oldest remaining building of the Thompson Orphanage and Training Institution.
1129 E 3rd St, Charlotte, NC 28204
The Memorial Chapel of St. Mary the Virgin is the oldest remaining building of the Thompson Orphanage and Training Institution. Established in 1887 at what was then the outskirts of Charlotte, the institution is the third oldest orphanage in North Carolina. It was named for Lewis Thompson (1808-1867) of Bertie County, North Carolina, whose wife Margaret was a financial contributor to the orphanage and donated most of the land for its 40-acre campus that included a functioning farm tended by the children as part of their daily chores. The orphanage took in children from across North Carolina whose parents had either died or could not care for them due to poverty or illness.
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The first superintendent of the Thompson Orphanage was Reverend Edwin Augustus Osbourne (1837-1926), a former Confederate army colonel and lawyer turned Episcopal missionary. He led the facility until 1898, when he resigned to accept a commission as a chaplain for the Second Regiment of North Carolina Volunteers during the Spanish-American War.
The Gothic Revival style chapel was built between April 11, 1891, and August 16, 1892, using bricks made from clay excavated, molded, and fired at the site. Construction was funded entirely by a $2,500 donation provided by North Carolina Supreme Court Justice William Preston Bynum (1820-1909). A native of Germantown, North Carolina, Bynum moved to Charlotte in 1879 after his term on the Court ended and resumed private law practice until his death in 1909. In addition to the Thompson Orphanage Chapel, Bynum’s philanthropy included the construction of UNC-Chapel Hill’s Bynum Hall (originally Bynum Gymnasium), the first home of the North Carolina Tar Heels men’s basketball team. That building was offered in memory of his grandson and UNC student William Preston Bynum, Jr.
The Thompson campus ultimately grew to about 110 acres and accommodated up to 118 children. By the 1950s, due to the increased role of federal and state agencies in foster care, the number of children at Thompson was declining. That prompted a change in the institution’s mission. Renamed Thompson Children’s Home, the organization focused on the treatment of emotionally disturbed children from across the state. By the time Thompson’s 3rd Street campus closed in 1969, the facility had served more than 1,200 children. Despite this site’s closure, Thompson Children’s Home remains in operation, with multiple branches throughout North Carolina, providing developmental, behavioral, clinical, and health services to children and families.
Today, the Thompson Orphanage Chapel anchors an urban park in the Elizabeth neighborhood. It is managed by the Mecklenburg County Parks and Recreation Department and is an active venue for weddings, memorial services, and other ceremonies.