The original Kerr nursery ran out of room. Following a fundraising campaign by Alexander’s third wife, Ruth Kerr, and Margaret Bondurant, a new nursery was built in 1921. The building operated as an adoption home until 1967, when services transitioned to foster homes...
Due to increasing need, larger quarters for the Louise Home were built on nine acres of farm and forest on what is now Kerr’s Gresham campus. Over the years, a new Louise Home was built, and additional buildings were added to support different types of...
Albertina died suddenly of typhus in 1911. After her death, Alexander gave the Society their family home in Northwest Portland to be used as a nursery in her honor. The Albertina Kerr Nursery Home provided adoption services and day-care for children of single...
William MacLaren founded the Portland Commons Mission for Homeless Men and Returning Prisoners, the name was later changed to the Pacific Coast Rescue and Protective Society. In 1908, the Portland Commons bought the Louise Home to serve women and children, beginning...
