Boys Town was founded on December 12, 1917, as an
orphanage for boys. Originally known as "The City of Little Men", the organization was begun by
Edward J. Flanagan, a Roman Catholic
priest, while he worked in the
Diocese of Omaha. Using a loan of $90, he first rented a home at 25th and Dodge streets, in Omaha, to care for five boys. From these beginnings, the City of Little Men developed new juvenile care methods in 20th-century America, emphasizing "social preparation as a
model for public boys' homes worldwide". Flanagan is now a candidate for beatification.
1917–1921: Early growth and move to Overlook Farm Boys Town quickly grew from the original five boys living in a home in downtown Omaha in 1917 to more than 100 boys by early 1918. The increase required a relocation in 1919 to South Omaha. Flanagan had been contending with criticism about having kids of different races, religions, nationalities, and backgrounds all living together under the same roof. Mounting societal tensions and the need for even more space led to Flanagan’s 1921 decision to relocate Boys Town to Overlook Farm. In 1921, Father Flanagan purchased Overlook Farm on the outskirts of Omaha and moved his boys' home there. The move to Overlook Farm was a major step in Father Flanagan's plan to create a developed community. In time, the Home became known as the Village of Boys Town. By the 1930s, hundreds of boys lived at the Village, which was developed to include a school, dormitories, and administration buildings. Adapting the "Junior Republic" model, the boys elected their own government, including a mayor, council, and commissioners.
1930s–1960s Franklin D. Roosevelt, then a presidential candidate, visited Boys Town with his wife
Eleanor in November 1932, remarking on the beauty of the site and its purpose. In 1936, the community of Boys Town was designated as an official village in the State of Nebraska. By the late 1930s, Boys Town's development and staff efforts to court public support had made it the subject of many newspaper and magazine articles. In 1938, producers from MGM Studios traveled to Boys Town to discuss the prospects of a
movie about the Home. A few months later, actors
Spencer Tracy and
Mickey Rooney, along with a 61-member crew, arrived at Boys Town to begin ten days of on-location filming. Tracy won an Academy Award for his role. In 1943, Boys Town adopted as its image and logo a picture of a boy carrying a younger boy on his back, captioned "
He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother", a phrase originating with the
United Free Church of Scotland. A statue with an older boy carrying a younger girl, reflecting the same sentiments, is located at Boys Town in Nebraska, where it is referred to as "The Work Continues" statue. When Flanagan suffered a fatal heart attack in
Berlin, Germany in 1948, the Archbishop of Omaha,
Gerald T. Bergan, named Monsignor
Nicholas H. Wegner as Boys Town's second executive director. The best records available indicate that the home's population peaked at 880, in the 1960s.
Fundraising controversy and Wegner's resignation Boys Town's fundraising practices drew scrutiny in 1972 after the
Omaha Sun, a local newspaper, investigated the nonprofit after a tip from local Omaha businessman
Warren Buffett. During the decade-long association between Boys Town and the now-defunct credit union, youths who had initially been sent to work for the bank started speaking up with accusations of extensive sexual abuse. These reports alleged that King was head of a vast
child prostitution ring with a clientele list that included numerous prominent members of society, reaching as high as the U.S. White House. It has also been speculated that King's embezzled funds were used to finance this illegal operation. In 1986, a detailed report of abuses that named both victims and perpetrators was submitted by a Boys Town
social worker to the organization's Chief Executive, Father Val Peter. This represented a violation of
state statutes requiring accusations of this nature to be reported directly to authorities, such as Child Protective Services or police. Father Peter admitted to conducting his own investigation, after which he dismissed the accusations as unfounded, though he also claimed to have no knowledge of the report submitted by the social worker. Ultimately, a Grand Jury failed to indict Lawrence King on any charges related to sexual abuse. == Transition to Family Home programs ==