Washburn Memorial Orphan Asylum (Minneapolis, Minn.)

The organization retained its original corporate name until 1968, when it was officially changed to Washburn Child Guidance Center.

The Washburn Memorial Orphan Asylum was founded in Minneapolis (Minn.) in 1883 with a bequeath from the estate of milling magnate Cadwallader Colden Washburn (1818-1882), co-founder of the Washburn-Crosby Co., to build and operate a home to serve orphaned children without regard to age, gender, race, or religion. The orphanage, which opened in November 1886, in practice cared for orphaned, half-orphaned, and other dependent and neglected children under the age of 15 for over 40 years.

As social welfare policies and practices for the care of dependent and neglected children changed from institutional to home care during the 1920s, the orphanage increasingly concentrated on placing children in foster homes and boarding homes. The number of residents gradually decreased, and the orphanage closed in 1929. It was succeeded by a foster home placement agency that also provided support services for the children and their parents. It operated 1929-1949 under the name Washburn Home.

The organization's mission continued to evolve to meet changing community needs, and in the early 1950s it began to focus its attention on the mental health needs of dependent and neglected children. In 1951 it established the Washburn Memorial Clinic to provide mental health services to such children and their families. The clinic and the organization, which had retained its original corporate name since its founding, were officially renamed the Washburn Child Guidance Center in 1968.