On December 17, 1920, Letha Dally became the first resident…

On December 17, 1920, Letha Dally became the first resident of the Church of God Orphanage, today known as the Smoky Mountain Children’s Home. Letha was under the care of a county orphanage in Sevier County, Tennessee, when she learned that the Church of God was planning to open a home for children in Cleveland. She asked her pastor if she could live at the Church of God orphanage, and the congregation where she attended raised the money for her train fare to Cleveland. When she arrived alone two months early, General Overseer A.J. Tomlinson met Letha at the train station and invited her to live in his home until the orphanage was ready to open in December.