A History of the Lincoln Institution — Civil War Orphanage and Indian School

presented by Mike Bertram and Heidi Sproat

The April TEHS meeting presentation will be given by long-time Society members Mike Bertram and Heidi Sproat — ironically members whose lives find them now living in four different states between them, and no longer nearby. Join us for an inside look at Mary McHenry Cox’s Lincoln Institution and its affiliated organizations, the Educational Home, the former local Ponemah site, and the Meade Farm in the Dakotas. Mike and Heidi have explored this subject in depth, prompted by the discovery that Soldiers’ Orphan Schools and Native American institutions existed in our area since the late 1860s. In fact, Chester Springs Library sits on the footprint of one of the Pennsylvania Soldiers’ Orphan Schools. Mike and Heidi have uncovered materials from dozens of sources about these institutions that have heretofore been unpublished.

The team started this project long before the 2024 appearance of documentaries about Native American schools. We’re sure you will enjoy this informative presentation that will explore a number of avenues, including tapping resources that have only recently come to light.

Mike Bertram joined the Society in 2003 when he presented and published an article on Valley Forge Industry. In the following years, he published on a number of other topics focusing on the very local area in Tredyffrin where he lived.

In 2010, he moved to Adams County, Pa. and refocused his efforts on developing and managing new electronic resources for the Society, including interactive historical maps, image databases, and other research tools. Mike spends his winters in southern Arizona where he researches, documents, and visits historical mining sites. He has identified over 400 local mines so far, but has yet to visit most of them.

A former 30-year resident of Pennsylvania and continuous TEHS member since her employment at Easttown Library in the 2000s, Heidi Sproat now splits her time between Frederick, Maryland, and Truckee, California. Heidi loves the challenges that new educational opportunities present, and is no stranger to online volunteer work. She is the Webmaster, Map, Image and article coordinator for Truckee-Donner Historical Society, and remains an active member in select TEHS activities that can be done online. She is an avid bicyclist and skier and loves the outdoors.