In 1858, the California Legislature passed the Industrial School Act, which created the first institution for neglected and delinquent youth, modeled largely on the refuge houses established during the 1820’s. Part I of the article examines the influence of other early institutions on the Industrial School, while part II explores the founding of the San Francisco Industrial School, including the social conditions, theories, processes, and precedents that led to its creation. The problems that emerged at the Industrial School shortly after its opening are also explored in part II, including the absence of educational or vocational facilities and an overly-rigorous daily schedule. Part III provides an overview of the reform efforts aimed at the Industrial School, which included abolishing its private charter in favor of establishing the Industrial School as a public institution and the removal of girls, spurring the establishment of the first girls-only institution in California. Part IV describes the legal challenges faced by the Industrial School and the development of juvenile law that resulted. The practice of confining non-criminal youths in reform schools was challenged during this time and the quest for alternatives to institutionalization spread throughout the country. Part V examines these alternative child welfare interventions that emerged in response to the Industrial School, while part VI recounts the Industrial School’s final years and its legacy. The Industrial School closed its doors in 1892 and remaining youth were transferred to two new State-administered reformatories in California that continue to operate today as part of the California Youth Authority.