Campbell County
Protestant Orphans Home
From Pieces of the Past Volume3, pages 236-238 by Jim Reis
and reprinted here with his permission
The site on which the Baptist Convalescent Center in Newport is built was the
home of George Fearons, which later served as the Campbell County Protestant
Orphans Home.
George Fearons was a native of Ireland, who came to Newport in 1838. Fearons is said to have built his Newport home on 5.5 acres he purchased from James Taylor. The location was not part of Newport at the time, and the house sat on a hilltop south of the city. For many years the 20-room, two-story Georgian style home with its six large windows across the front was referred to simply as "the mansion of the hilltop."
The house built for Taylor's granddaughter, Mount St. Martin's was down the hill from Fearons' home. The Fearons sold their home in 1886 to Campbell County Protestant Orphans Home.
The idea for a children's home date to 1884 when the Kentucky State Journal spearheaded a campaign that called fro the establishment of an orphanage. An organization was chartered April 3, 1884 to find a site. Five sites were considered. The top choice was 6 acres owned by Joseph Wright, three miles south of Newport where U.S. 27 and Ft. Thomas Avenue intersect. The children's home group bought the land, but because of complaints tat the site was too far out, construction was delayed.
Fearons then offered to sell his home for $15,000 as an orphanage and to accept the old Wright property as partial payment. It is not clear what happened to the Wright property, but the Fearons' home was purchased for $1200. The orphanage was dedicated Aug 1, 1886 and operated there for almost 70 years. Because of crowding and fire safety concerns the orphanage board began looking for a new site in 1947. A 25 acre site, which was the home of the Highland Nursery, was chosen.
Cornerstone ceremonies were held on June 24, 1951 and the orphanage changed its name to Holly Hill and operated in Cold Spring until 1990 when it moved to a new site on Washington Trace Road. The remaining building included three buildings, a three story building, a two story building and a three car garage. Rev Chase Jennings, director of missions for the North Bend and Campbell County Baptist Association, and his son, Chase Jennings Jr. were sent to South Newport in April 1951 to find a site for a Baptist mission. They found the children's home and initiated negotiations for the land.
The Kentucky Post on June 22, 1951 announced that the Baptist Association was buying the orphanage for $75,000 and would convert it into a home for the elderly. The trustees involved in the purchase were Frank Schooler, Bernard Boyers, Arnold McAtee, Richard Colcough and Byron Stephens. James Ware was hired to handle the legal work.
Frederick W Winkler of Ft. Thomas was picked as chairman of the home's first board of directors and W N Carnes and his wife, Lula were hired as the home's first administrator and matron. The home had an open house on July 13, 1952 and an estimated 500 people toured the building. But by November 1952 there were only three residents. So the board decided to convert 21 rooms in an annex building into convalescent care. This was dedicated September 19, 1954.
In May 1966 a major expansion plan was announced by the Baptist Home, was completed in 1968 and the name changed to the Baptist Convalescent Center. An addition was dedicated November 12, 1989 and brought the capacity to 167 residents.