The Iowa, Sac and Fox Mission was one of many Indian missions built in what is now Kansas between 1820 and 1862. Established in 1837 by Reverend Samuel and Eliza Irvin and Reverend William and Julia Hamilton, it was sponsored by the Presbyterians. By 1856 the mission had forty-four students, half were Iowas and the rest were from the Blackfoot, Sioux, Pawnee, and Sac and Fox tribes. Most of the children were orphans. Its goal was to discourage tribal ways and make the Indians self-sufficient Christian farmers. The mission became an orphanage in 1863 and closed in 1868.