- Kent County -
Grand Rapids Home for Veterans
(formerly Old Soldiers Home)
3000 Monroe Avenue, N.W.
Grand Rapids, MI 49505
The need for a home or refuge for the aging, infirmed, or indigent veterans of Michigan was filled in 1885 by the passage of
Act No. 152, which provided for the "establishment of a home for disabled soldiers, sailors and marines within the State of Michigan." One of the motivations was the shameful fact that 460 veterans had resided in poorhouses the previous winter and 100 others at G. A. R. posts. Included in the Act was an appropraition of $50,000 for maintaining the Home for the
first two years. After considering several possible locations the "Nelson Farm," three miles north of the business center of Grand Rapids was chosen. The citizens of Grand Rapids purchased the 132 acre farm at a cost of
$16,500 and deeded it to the State. The contract for building the facility was awarded to Charles Tiedke upon his bid of $99,667.57. On April 13, 1886, the first stone was laid. On December 30, 1886, the Home was dedicated with thousands of people in attendance. Applications flooded in
long before the Home was completed and, on September 11, 1885, John Wright, Fourteenth Michigan Infantry, was the first to be granted admission.
The three story brick structure was originally designed to house 450 veterans. It was 258 feet in length with the center portion 98 feet deep. The wings on each end were 120 feet deep making for a total floor space of 24,000 square feet. In 1889 additional appropriations were made for improvements; a hospital, 94 person dormitory, morgue and root house amounted to $33,200. The Home has seen changes with each passing decade as dictated by the number of veterans and their changing needs. In 1997 there were 757 residents making it the largest nursing care facility in Michigan.
Also included at the Home is a well cared for cemetery that was initially planned to contain 1,048 burials. Currently (2014) there are over 5,000 burials there. Only veterans and their widows who were residents of the Home can be buried there. If the widow was never a resident of the Home she is allowed to be buried there only if she is cremated and buried in her husband's grave.
If you believe that you had an ancestor in the Grand Rapids Home for Veteran's you can search an index containing more than 13,000 names at the Western Michigan Genealogical Society website. Instructions to request copies of records are provided
