Home On The Range was established in 1950, when Father Elwood E. Cassedy and three boys moved into a granary converted to living quarters on the former ranch owned by Mr. and Mrs. Edward Lievens. The couple gave their 960-acre ranch to Father Cassedy, after reading of his dream to establish a home for boys in the country.
In 1955, as the program began to grow and serve more residents in larger quarters, Father William Fahnlander joined Father Cassedy in providing for the needs of the boys. Shortly after Father Cassedy’s death in 1959, Father Fahnlander became superintendent. He remained active with Home On The Range until his death in 2001.
Home On The Range began offering services to young teenage girls in 1990. The Home On The Range Board of Directors believed we had a moral and social responsibility to recognize that boys and girls experience the same kind of problems.
Home On The Range has been helping disadvantaged and troubled boys and girls since 1950. The children come to Home On The Range from all over North Dakota. Home On The Range will accept children from any state, pending the application process.
While our official license states we may have up to 36 residents, we actually reach a far greater number of individuals during the course of the year. The average length of stay is 8 months. Once the child completes the program, he/she is discharged and they return to their hometown communities and families.
