WOMEN HISTORIANS OF THE MIDWEST:

In May 1972, thirteen women historians in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area met and agreed to form a regional organization to promote communication among Midwestern women with a professional interest in history. The organization was called Women Historians of the Midwest (WHOM) and was in existence from 1972-2001. Original members included Rhoda Gilman, Gretchen Kreuter, Barbara Stuhler, Marjorie Wall Bingham, and Susan Hill Gross. The founding President of WHOM was Gretchen Kreuter.

In 1973, WHOM was chartered by the state of Minnesota as a nonprofit corporation with the purposes to "promote and extend sisterly relationships between and among women historians; to advance the study of history and to advance the interests of women in the field of history; to publish and diffuse information of interest to women historians; to rescue from oblivion the memory of significant women and their exploits, perils, and adventures; to cultivate among the citizens of the Midwest a knowledge of the past and present contributions of women to the useful and liberal arts, science and literature; and to undertake such steps as may promote these and similar purposes."

Major activities include of WHOM included regular meetings and sponsorship of a number of conferences, and the publication of a newsletter. WHOM also wrote numerous grants for various projects, including the one that established the Upper Midwest Women’s History Center (UMWHC) in 1980 under the name Upper Midwest Women's History Center for Teachers. They also served as the fiscal agent for the UMWHC.

WHOM disbanded in 2001.

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Records of the Women Historians of the Midwest include correspondence, minutes, articles of incorporation, constitutions, and other founding documents, financial records, membership and mailing lists, subject files, conference files, and newsletters. The conference files include publicity, agendas, correspondence, copies of papers presented, newspaper clippings, and evaluations. Also included are subject files (1976-1992).

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Availability:

The collection is open for research use.

Preferred Citation:

[Indicate the cited item and/or series here]. Women Historians of the Midwest Organizational Records. Minnesota Historical Society.

See the Chicago Manual of Style for additional examples.

Accession Information:

Accession numbers: 12,949; 12,972; 13,763; 14,104; 14,349; 15,054; 15,153; 15,372; 15,712; 15,841; 16,381

Processing Information:

Processed by: Lara D. Friedman-Shedlov, May 1999; Alex Kent, August 2009.

Catalog ID number: 990017122740104294

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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:

Historians -- Minnesota.

History -- Societies, etc.

Women historians -- Minnesota.

Women -- Minnesota -- History -- Societies and Clubs.

Women teachers -- Minnesota.

Persons:

Bingham, Marjorie Wall, 1936-

Carlson, Deborah L.

Gross, Susan Hill, 1934-

Kreuter, Gretchen V.

Langworthy, Carol.

Wandersee, Winifred D.

Meetings:

Conference on the History of Women (1st : 1975 : Saint Paul, Minnesota).

Conference on the History of Women (2nd : 1977 : Saint Paul, Minnesota).

Conference on the History of Women (3rd : 1982 : Saint Paul, Minnesota).

Types of Documents:

Professional papers.

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