RIPLEY MEMORIAL FOUNDATION:

Ripley Hospital For Women (known until 1955 as Maternity Hospital) was founded by Dr. Martha G. Ripley in November 1886 (incorporated in July 1887) as a facility for unmarried women and needy married women. The institution also helped to place those children given up by their mothers for adoption.

In its early months the hospital was located at 316 15th Street South in Minneapolis but quickly outgrew this space. A house at 2529 4th Avenue South was purchased where it remained until 1896, when the residence of A.T. Ankeny, located on five acres on the corner of Glenwood and Penn Avenues North, was purchased. The hospital remained at this location until 1956, when it was forced to close its doors due to declining occupancy and funding problems.

Once the hospital closed, the building was sold to Children's Hospital and the assets retained to create the Ripley Memorial Foundation, which would provide financial support for activities and agencies that promoted the welfare of women and children, particularly expectant women, as well as single mothers and their children. Over the years, the scope broadened to include issues such as educational and employment needs in addition to physical and mental health concerns. Since 1993, the foundation has directed a major portion of its funds to programming to prevent the teen pregnancy.

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Minutes, annual reports, statistics, news clippings, and other records relating to the administration and activities of Maternity Hospital and of the Ripley Memorial Foundation, the charity that was created when the hospital closed in 1957.

Also included are a record of donations (ca. 1887-1898) and a ledger recording investments (ca. 1927-1943), as well as a small amount of correspondence, primarily concerning the closing of the hospital (1956-1958) and the administration of grants (1958).

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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] Ripley Memorial Foundation Hospital and Foundation Records. Minnesota Historical Society.

See the Chicago Manual of Style for additional examples

Accession Information:

Accession numbers: 10,373; 15,501

Processing Information:

Processed by: Lara D. Friedman-Shedlov, May 2000

Catalog ID number: 990017363710104294

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Hospital records make up the bulk of the collection.

Administrative Records

Financial and Statistical Records

Publicity and Miscellaneous Materials

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Administrative Records

Correspondence

Publicity and Miscellaneous Records

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Additional printed materials about Martha Ripley and Maternity Hospital are separately cataloged in the Minnesota Historical Society book collection.

A filmstrip about Dr. Martha Ripley and her work on behalf of women's rights is separately cataloged in the Minnesota Historical Society audiovisual 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:

Hospitals -- Maternity services -- Minnesota -- Minneapolis.

Women's hospitals -- Minnesota -- Minneapolis.

Women physicians -- Minnesota -- Minneapolis.

Unmarried mothers -- Services for -- Minnesota.

Charitable uses, trusts, and foundations -- Minnesota.

Maternal health services.

Maternity homes -- Minnesota -- Minneapolis -- Administration.

Maternal and infant welfare -- Minnesota.

Persons:

Ripley, Martha G. (Martha George), 1843-1912.

Organizations:

Maternity Hospital (Minneapolis, Minn.).

Ripley Hospital for Women (Minneapolis, Minn.).

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