00989.xml WELLS MEMORIAL HOUSE (MINNEAPOLIS, MINN.): An Inventory of Its Settlement House Records at the Minnesota Historical Society National Historical Publications and Records Commission. Minnesota Historical Society
St. Paul, MN.

Manuscripts Collection

 Finding aid encoded by David B. PetersonNovember 2011 Finding aid written in English. OVERVIEW Minnesota Historical Society Wells Memorial House (Minneapolis, Minn.). Settlement house records. 1909-1965. Materials in English. Correspondence and miscellaneous papers, minutes including treasurer's reports (1920-1932), and photographs of this chapel, settlement house, and community social action agency located in downtown Minneapolis. 0.5 cubic feet (1 box). P752: See Detailed Description for shelf locations. HISTORICAL NOTE

The Wells Memorial House, Minneapolis, was organized in 1908 by St. Mark's Protestant Episcopal Church. The impetus for the formation of the House came when St. Mark's moved its parish from Sixth Street and Hennepin Avenue in downtown Minneapolis to Hennepin Avenue and Oak Grove Street in the Loring Park area of Minneapolis. In order to maintain its ties with its former parishioners living in central Minneapolis, $50,000 was donated to maintain a chapel in the area. Under the leadership of the Reverend Charles E. Haupt, a building was constructed at 116 North Eleventh Street, and on September 17, 1908, the first meeting of the board of managers of the Wells Memorial House was held. The constitution and bylaws of the House were adopted on September 28, 1908, and the Reverend Irving P. Baldwin was named president. The House was named for Thomas B. Wells, who was rector of St. Mark's from 1880 to 1891.

The purpose of the House, according to its articles of incorporation, was "to establish, maintain and operate a Christian social settlement, and to assist other associations and institutions with charitable and benevolent aims..." In its years of operation the House carried on many activities, including a free dispensary, mental clinic, pathology laboratory, and a tuberculosis clinic, all in cooperation with St. Barnabas Hospital. It also operated a kindergarten, day nursery, library, employment bureau, a chapel, and a day camp, the Catherine J. Welles Camp at Big Lake, Minnesota. In December of 1930, the House was incorporated.

 SCOPE AND CONTENTS

The collection includes historical data, printed reports, certificate of incorporation, scattered minutes, and speeches regarding both the Wells Memorial Settlement House and Wells Memorial, Inc. Many were created by directors Dick Parvis and Thomas F. Hansen. The photographs document buildings and activities at the agency's camp on Lake Minnetonka.

CATALOG HEADINGS

This collection is indexed under the following headings in the catalog of the Minnesota Historical Society. Researchers desiring materials about related topics should search the catalog using these headings.

Topics: Charities -- Minnesota -- Minneapolis. Social service -- Minnesota -- Minneapolis. Social settlements -- Minnesota -- Minneapolis. Women -- Societies and clubs. Youth -- Minnesota -- Minneapolis. Persons: Atkinson, Frederick G. (Frederick Grant), 1864-1940. Bell, Emma E. Chapman, Margaret E., 1864-1951. Eastman, Welles, 1887-1975. Hansen, Thomas F.. Haupt, Charles Edgar, 1854-1942. Parvis, Dick. Organizations: Catherine J. Welles Camp (Big Lake, Minn.). Episcopal Church. Minnesota. Minneapolis. St. Mark's Church (Minneapolis, Minn.). St. Mark's Church (Minneapolis, Minn.). Mother's Club. Wells Memorial House (Minneapolis, Minn.). Nichols Mother's Club. ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION Preferred Citation:

[Indicate the cited item and/or series here]. Wells Memorial House (Minneapolis, Minn.). Settlement house records. Minnesota Historical Society.

See the Chicago Manual of Style for additional examples.

Accession Information:

Accession number: 4341a; 10,991; 16,504

 Processing Information:

Processing and cataloging of this collection was supported with a Basic Project grant awarded by the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC).

Catalog ID number: 001730867

 DETAILED DESCRIPTION P752 1 Correspondence and miscellaneous papers, undated and 1909-1910, 1922-1933, 1938, 1965. 6 folders.

Includes information on raising funds for the Catherine J. Welles Day Camp; insurance policies for the House; purchase of furnishings for the House; implementation of the Caroline S. Welles Memorial Trust Fund; letters of thanks for financial and other contributions made to the House by individuals; staff resignations; and similar matters. The files include a report of the building committee of the Wells Memorial House to the Vestry of St. Mark's church on the progress of the building of the house (January 4, 1909); a report on progress made by the House during the year (February 1922); an undated and unsigned manuscript detailing the history of the Wells Memorial House (1933?); and a history of the Nichols Mothers' Club of the Wells Memorial House by Emma E. Bell (October 19, 1938), written on the fortieth anniversary of the founding of the club.

Minutes of meetings, June 1920-1932. 5 folders.

Typewritten transcripts of minutes of meetings of the board of managers of the House. Attached to most transcripts are treasurer's reports.

 Photographs, undated and 1940.