Benton House Papers

Box List for a Collection at Chicago History Museum, Research Center:

Title: Benton House (Chicago, Ill.) records [manuscript], ca. 1892-1980.

Main entry: Benton House (Social settlement : Chicago, Ill.)

Size: 9.25 linear ft. (22 boxes)

Restriction: Case files and personnel files are closed.

Summary: Board minutes and reports, Guild minutes, correspondence, clippings, reports, and other office files of Benton House, a settlement house founded in 1907 and operated by the Episcopal Diocese of Chicago at 3052 South Gratten Avenue in the Bridgeport community of Chicago (Ill.) for many years. Early materials relate to the operation of a missionary kindergarten named Providence Kindergarten, Providence Day Nursery, and later, House of Happiness. Topics include economic and social conditions in the neighborhood.

Provenance: Donation (M1966.0604).

Historical note: Named Benton House in January 1942, the settlement merged into the Chicago Commons Association in 1967, and in 1970, operation of Benton House was passed to a group known as Over 21.

Related: Related materials at Chicago History Museum, Research Center, include the Chicago Commons Association records and publications by the Benton House settlement, cataloged separately.

List of contents of the collection:

Box#

Box 1 Minutes and reports 1907-1937

Box 2 Minutes and reports 1938-1962

Box 3 Guild minutes 1939-1957

General papers 1892-1945

Box 4 General papers 1946-1964

Undated items

List of online catalogue headings about the collection:

The following index headings for this collection were entered in the online catalog.

Subjects:

Benton House (Social settlement : Chicago, Ill.)--Archives.

3052 South Gratten Avenue (Chicago, Ill.)

Chicago Commons Association.

Episcopal Church. Diocese of Chicago (Ill.)

House of Happiness (Chicago, Ill. : 1926-Jan. 1942)

Providence Day Nursery (Chicago, Ill. : 1909-1916)

Providence Day Nursery and House of Happiness (Chicago, Ill. : 1916-1926)

Providence Kindergarten (Chicago, Ill. : 1907-1909)

Charities--Illinois--Chicago--20th century.

Church charities--Illinois--Chicago--20th century.

Community centers--Illinois--Chicago--20th century.

Day care centers--Illinois--Chicago--20th century.

Social settlements--Illinois--Chicago--20th century.

Bridgeport (Chicago, Ill.)

Chicago (Ill.)--Social conditions--20th century.

Form/genre:

Case files.

Clippings.

Correspondence.

Minutes.

Reports.