Timeline
- 1827 Death of Leake
- 1831 Leake & Watts Orphan House is founded in New York City for "the maintenance and education of helpless orphan children" by John Watts, according to the terms of a bequest by his brother-in-law, John George Leake.
- 1838 Cornerstone for new building laid
- 1843 The Leake & Watts Orphan House moves to the current site of the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in Upper Manhattan.
- 1850 Leake & Watts Orphan House opens its doors to girls.
- 1891 The Home is moved outside the city to the 40-acre (160,000 m2) farm of Edwin Forrest, the grounds were designed by Frederick Law Olmsted.
- 1921 The "cottage system" is implemented at Leake & Watts. First implemented for girls, the system featured six cottages with cottage parents, housing 10-30 girls each on the Yonkers campus.
- 1937 A Social Services Department with trained social work staff is established.
- 1944 The Foster Home Department is established.
- 1947 Leake & Watts merges with the Orphan Home and Asylum of the Episcopal Church and the Sevilla-Hopewell Society of Brooklyn.
Read more about this topic: Leake And Watts Children's Home