WCA FOUNDATION:

The organization was established in 1866 by twenty women as the Christian Aid Society of Minneapolis. It was incorporated in 1873 as the Woman's Christian Association of Minneapolis, and its focus was providing low-cost housing for working women. It claimed to be the first society for the relief of the poor in Minneapolis. Incorporators included Sarah P. Butler, Jane T. Harrison, Elizabeth Le Duc, Amelia O. Tucker, Irene E. Hale, and Amanda C. Morgan.

The Woman's Christian Association (WCA) opened its first boarding facility for women, the Woman's Boarding Home, in 1874. It eventually operated a number of residences in Minneapolis, including the Branch, the Woman's Hotel, the Mahala Fisk Pillsbury Home, the Phyllis Wheatley House settlement house, the Jones-Harrison Home, the Clara Doerr Club, Mabeth Paige Hall, the Young Men's Residence Club, and Lindley Hall. It also established an industrial school for girls, a hospital for training practical nurses, and the Janette Merrill Park, which provided a country place for vacations.

The Association became a grant-making organization in the 1980s, and its name was changed to WCA Foundation.

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These documents are organized into the following 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 Association of Minneapolis, Association records. Minnesota Historical Society.

See the Chicago Manual of Style for additional examples.

Microfilm Production:

Microfilm: Saint Paul: Dakota Microfilm Services, 1966. 4 reels; 35mm.

Microfilm is available for sale or interlibrary loan from the Minnesota Historical Society.

Accession Information:

Accession number: 9645; 13,363; 13,673; 14,524; 17,110

Processing Information:

Processed by: David B. Peterson, May 2016

Catalog ID number: 990017200210104294

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Selected volumes and materials found in the collection were microfilmed by the organization in 1966. The order in which the materials appear on the microfilm does not correspond with the order in which the original materials are found in the collection. The volume numbers given in the microfilm reel list below were apparently arbitrarily assigned at the time of filming and are found on paper tagging sheets inserted into the original volumes. The volume numbers do not appear on the volumes themselves. Researchers may use either the microfilm or the original materials.

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Records of the Phyllis Wheatley Community Center are cataloged separately in the Minnesota Historical Society manuscripts collections.

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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:

African Americans-Minnesota-Minneapolis-Recreation.

African Americans-Minnesota-Minneapolis-Social work with.

Charities-Minnesota-Minneapolis.

Dwellings-Minnesota-Minneapolis.

Housing-Minnesota-Minneapolis.

Older women-Minnesota-Minneapolis-Dwellings.

Outdoor recreation for women-Minnesota-Minneapolis.

Single people-Minnesota-Minneapolis-Dwellings.

Women-Services for-Minnesota-Minneapolis.

Working class women-Minnesota-Minneapolis.

Organizations:

Phyllis Wheatley Community Center (Minneapolis, Minn.).

Woman's Christian Association of Minneapolis, author.

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