WOMAN'S CHRISTIAN TEMPERANCE UNION OF MINNESOTA:

The Woman's Christian Temperance Union of Minnesota (WCTU) was organized September 6, 1877 at the Westminster Presbyterian Church in Minneapolis. Its purpose was "To unite the Christian women of Minnesota for the education of public sentiment to the standard of total abstinence from the use of alcoholic liquors; to train the young in habits of sobriety and total abstinence; to promote good citizenship, purity, peace, and the general welfare." Among its many projects the WCTU secured the first curfew ordinance, brought about the hiring of the first jail matron, instituted the first free kindergarten, founded the first Gospel Mission, secured the passage of the law requiring alcohol and drug education in the public schools, played an important part in raising the age of consent from seven to eighteen years, and secured the first three measures against the white slave traffic. The organization also supplied schools, churches, and libraries with educational literature, sound and visual aids, and speakers; presented radio programs; administered an annual camp for youth; and provided services and financial assistance to numerous charities.

The WCTU held an annual convention in September or October which included an official board meeting, a pre-convention, and a post-convention executive committee meeting. Between conventions any necessary business was conducted by the state central committee at the call of the president. The organization's official publication was The Minnesota White Ribbon and a year book was also published.

The WCTU also included two branches: the Loyal Temperance Legion (LTL), which focused on the education of children under the age of fourteen, and the Youth Temperance Council (YTC), which trained youth leaders between the ages of fourteen and twenty-five to present the Union's approach to the liquor problem to youth groups throughout the state.

Local unions were organized throughout the state and carried out the bulk of the WCTU's work. The state organization was divided into districts composed of the local unions. Each local union had representation at the state organization's annual convention and cooperated with the plans adopted at the state convention and with those adopted from the national plans for the state needs by the state executive committee.

Historical information was taken from the collection.

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These records are organized into the following three sections:

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Availability:

The collection is open for research use.

Preferred Citation:

[Indicate the cited item and/or series here]. Woman's Christian Temperance Union of Minnesota records. Minnesota Historical Society.

See the Chicago Manual of Style for additional examples.

Accession Information:

Accession numbers: 1889; 12,366; 12,522; 12,609; 12,822; 12,847; 13,346; 13,398; 13,471; 13,584; 13,726; 14,833; 15,130; 15,435; 16,195; 16,619

Location of Master Files:

Digital masters of the audio discs are maintained on the Society's secure digital collections storage servers and are managed and preserved in accordance with archival best practices.

Processing Information:

Digitization and encoding by April Rodriguez, June 7, 2023.

Digital audio transferred from the master audio discs by the Minnesota Historical Society for preservation purposes (June 2023).

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

Digitization was made possible by the Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund through the vote of Minnesotans on November 4, 2008.

Catalog ID number: 990017349420104294

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The records relate to the annual state conventions, the meetings of the state central committee, the functions of the publicity and exchange bureaus, and the activities of the Loyal Temperance League and Youth Temperance Council. Beyond documenting the routine functions of the organization the records include a group of essays gathered by the Exchange Bureau, which were loaned to local unions for use at programs; a series of scrapbooks created by the Publicity Bureau, which contain newspaper clippings related to the WCTU; a number of plays gathered by the Drama and Pageantry Department for use by local unions; a small amount of material related to the YTC's annual camp including its Little Camp Among the Hills at Medicine Lake, Minnesota; and three pageants (1956, 1962, 1977) that present the history of the Minnesota WCTU. A collection of WCTU printed matter and pamphlets primarily focused on narcotic and alcohol education and a number of songbooks published by the WCTU are also included. Some of the scrapbooks were donated to the state organization by local unions and contain newspaper clippings covering the alcohol problem in general, as well as news related to the national, state, and local unions. The photographs primarily contain pictures of state officers and group portraits at WCTU functions, many unidentified.

Location

Shelf Q-9-H (Room B-105.7)

Talks and Poems of Mary Frances Cook, 1948.

Sound quality impacted by hiss and pops, volume has been raised considerably to hear Mary Frances Cook.

Container note: Recording discs made by Wilcox-Gay. Presented to WCTU of Minn. Rev H.B. Mathis Greenbush Minn.

Description of Departments of the WCTU by Mary Frances Cook, undated. 1 master sound disc (7 minutes, 53 seconds): 78 rpm; 10 inches and 1 user audio file: MP3 (11.2 MB).

Digital audio

Poems and Convention report by Mary Frances Cook, June 1948. 1 master sound disc (5 minutes, 29 seconds): 78 rpm; 8 inches and 1 user audio file: MP3 (5.3 MB).

Digital audio

Women’s Christian Temperance Union introduction by Mary Frances Cook, June 17, 1948. 1 master sound disc (4 minutes, 2 seconds): 78 rpm; 10 inches and 1 user audio file: MP3 (3.9 MB).

Digital audio

Importance of Christian training by Mary Frances Cook, November 8, 1948. 1 master sound disc (8 minutes, 24 seconds): 78 rpm; 10 inches and 1 user audio file: MP3 (8.9 MB).

Digital audio

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Minneapolis:

Como:

Minute books, February7, 1889-November 13, 1914; September 23, 1927-February 21, [1931?]; September 15, 1939-April 1945; January 8, 1952-August 20, 1964. 8 volumes.

Location

Box

149.A.2.4F

7

Membership and treasurer's books, 1915-April 1946. 3 volumes.

Location

Box

144.D.5.8F

9

Scrapbook, 1937-1946.

Highland: Scrapbook, 1938-1939.

Location

Shelf Q-9-H (Room B-105.7)

Hobart: Talk with Bessie Laythe Scovell by Rev. Virgil A. Kraft, approximately 1946. 3 master sound discs (19 minutes, 53 seconds): 78 rpm; 12 inches and 1 user audio file: MP3 (21.7 MB).

Sound discs I-II, V-VI, and VII.

0:00:00-0:04:30 Disc I

0:04:30-0:08:40 Disc II

0:08:40-0:13:00 Disc V

0:13:00-0:16:31 Disc VI

0:16:31-0:19:53 Disc VII

Digital audio

Location

Box

144.D.5.8F

9

McCurdy: Scrapbooks, 1890s; 1940s. 3 volumes.

Location

Box

149.A.2.4F

7

Scovell: Program, 1959-1960.

Sunrise:

Yearbooks and programs, 1913; 1938-1951.

Location

Box

144.D.5.8F

9

Scrapbook, 1944-1952.

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Known as "The Frances Willard of Minnesota," Bessie Lathe Scovell (1860-1949) joined the Young Woman's Christian Temperance Union in 1886 and gave 65 years of continuous service to the Minnesota WCTU. She was instrumental in founding the organization's newspaper, the Minnesota White Ribbon, and served as the Minnesota WCTU's president from 1897 to 1909. Among the correspondence and related papers is a group of Civil War letters (1862-1865) sent by Rawson Lathe; letters to Scovell from the national WCTU president, Lillian Stevens, and secretary, Anna Gordon (1898-1902); an incomplete biography of Scovell; and her portrait. The Society of the Class of 1884 was formed by Scovell's class at the University of Minnesota and the minute book documents their meetings as well as their fiftieth reunion in 1934.

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The Minnesota white ribbon; the Woman's Christian Temperance Union of Minnesota yearbook; the Minnesota Woman's Christian Temperance Union annual convention; the Woman's Christian Temperance Union, Fifth District (Hennepin County, Minn.) year book; and the Woman's Christian Temperance Union, Fourth District (Ramsey County, Minn.) year book are in the Minnesota Historical Society serials collection.

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

Topics:

Temperance -- Minnesota -- Societies, etc.

Temperance -- Minnesota -- Songs and music.

Temperance -- Minnesota -- Exercises, recitations, etc.

Temperance -- Minnesota -- Drama.

Temperance -- Societies, etc.

Prohibition -- Minnesota -- Societies, etc.

Youth -- Minnesota -- Alcohol use.

Camps -- Minnesota.

Drama -- Collections.

Women --Minnesota -- Saint Paul -- Societies and clubs.

Person:

Scovell, Bessie Lathe.

Organizations:

Central Woman's Christian Temperance Union (Saint Paul, Minn.).

Loyal Temperance Legion.

Woman's Christian Temperance Union.

Youth Temperance Council.

Society of the Class of '84 (University of Minnesota).

Types of Documentation:

Essays.

Photographs.

Song books.

Sound recordings.

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