|
 Deer Lodge Women's League Chapter House - Deer Lodge, MT Posted by:  T0SHEA
N 46° 23.907 W 112° 43.612
12T E 367248 N 5139768
The American Women’s League, founded in 1908, built two chapter houses in Montana, one in Avon and this one in Deer Lodge. Constructed in 1910, it was one of five basic designs created by architects Helfensteller, Hirsch & Watson for the league.
Waymark Code: WMKQKZ
Location: Montana, United States
Date Posted: 05/17/2014
Views: 2
Woman suffrage was at the political forefront when Edward Gardner Lewis, a St. Louis promoter and publisher of women’s magazines, founded the American Women’s League in 1908. Lewis saw the League as the perfect means to promote American womanhood and among several League institutions he founded was a correspondence school called the People’ University. Chapter houses across the country served as University branches. League membership was achieved through magazine subscription sales or pledges of $52 worth of Lewis’ publications. In exchange, the League constructed 39 local chapter houses in 16 states including two in Montana at Avon and Deer Lodge. Deer Lodge women’s groups banded together to collect the requisite subscriptions and C. D. Terret donated the lot.
This Prairie style bungalow, designed by St. Louis architects, was built according to one of five standardized chapter house plans. Wide bracketed eaves, heavy piers, and low side planters emphasize the horizontal orientation typical of the Prairie style, while exposed beams, dark moldings, and original stenciling highlight the Arts and Crafts interior. Financial reversals sent Lewis into bankruptcy as this house reached completion. Founding League member Alma Bielenberg Higgins appealed to her father, Nicholas J. Bielenberg, who purchased the mortgage. He donated the building to the women of Deer Lodge in memory of his daughter, Augusta, who died in 1901. The Deer Lodge Woman’s Club has since maintained the facility, which has always served its intended function as a women’s cultural, literary, and social center.
From the NRHP Plaque
Date Created: 01/01/1910
Active Club?: Yes
Website Source: [Web Link]
Secondary Website Source: [Web Link]
Address:
800 Missouri Avenue
Deer Lodge, MT USA
59722
|
Visit Instructions:
To log a visit to a waymark, provide an image of the building. A GPS or visiting waymarker does not need to be in the frame, but it helps. Please include details of the experience.
Recent Visits/Logs:
| There are no logs for this waymark yet. |
|
|
|
|