There are plenty of good books out there to wile away the winter doldrums, but one in particular has left me wanting to learn more about the actual historical events on which the fictional novel was based.

“Orphan Train,” Christina Baker Kline’s bestselling novel published in 2013, is a poignant story about an elderly Irish immigrant who as a child was sent on an orphan train from New York City to Minnesota. Set in modern-day Maine, the fictional account weaves in the story of a 17-year-old teenage girl who has been in the foster-care system for years, and how she finds common ground with the 91-year-old Irish woman.

It’s an entertaining, quick read that brings to light an important yet little-known slice of American history. At least I had no idea there were actual “orphan trains” that ran regularly between 1854 and 1929, carrying thousands of homeless children from East Coast cities such as New York City to various outposts throughout the Midwest.

It was mind-boggling for me to learn that more than 30,000 children were homeless in New York City in the 1850s during a time when there were no social services or safety nets for children other than to house them in orphanages. Large numbers of kids ran wild in the streets or slums with virtually no hope of a better life.

Charles Loring Brace founded The Children’s Aid Society in 1853 with the goal of rounding up these poverty-stricken orphans and placing them with “morally upright farm families” in states such as Minnesota, Iowa and the Dakotas. Some orphans came as far west as Montana.

The Montana Children’s Home Society in Helena was developed in 1896 to care for these transplanted orphans. In fact, the receiving home of the society still stands at 840 Helena Ave. in Helena, according to the “Helena As She Was” website.

Other sources indicate Helena was reputed to be the last stop on the orphan trains, but there is no hard evidence to support the claim.

Placing the children with families who could adopt them certainly was a better alternative to life on the streets or in an institution. But as the novel so vividly points out, not all of the placements had happy endings. Some children were abused and many were taken in only to provide manual labor.

The most desirable children were picked first, and those left behind then traveled on the train from town to town until families were found to take them in. I can only imagine how frightening and demoralizing this would have been to these children, some of whom were just 6 years old.

The last of these orphan train children still live in towns throughout the Midwest, and there’s even a national database of the orphans maintained by the Orphan Train Heritage Society of America, which helps people retrace their roots and preserves the history of the orphan train movement.

If you’re not a reader, a movie based on Kline’s book is now in the works. It’s a compelling story and an important part of our history.

Features editor Lynnette Hintze may be reached at 758-4421 or by email at lhintze@dailyinterlake.com.