Chicago’s Hull-House opened its doors on September 18, 1889, on Chicago’s Near West Side. The home was Chicago’s first settlement house, which served newly arrived immigrants through a variety of educational, social and health support services. At the time, settlement houses were popping up all over industrial cities with large immigrant populations, mainly in the Northeast and Midwest.

Jane Addams and Ellen Gates Starr, both from upper-middle-class backgrounds, opened Hull-House after the mansion’s owner, Charles Hull, donated his property to the women. By the early 1900s, Hull-House had expanded to include 13 buildings on two city blocks. Included in the complex were a gymnasium, theater, art gallery, boys’ club, nursery, kindergarten classes and dining and living quarters for staff members.

The work of Jane Addams and Ellen Gates Starr helped countless new citizens adjust to American culture and helped implement new laws protecting women and children and safeguards for workers.

Learn more:
Read more about the history of the Hull-House in Chicago
Visiting Hull-House? Read more about the Jane Addams Hull-House Museum