The Hull House was built in Chicago in 1889, which was the first settlement house in the U.S. It was co-founded by Jane Addams and Ellen Gates Starr. The two friends travelled to Europe, and while there, visited the Toynbee Hall. The Toynbee Hall was a settlement house for young boys. The two women were inspired by the house, and decided to build one back in America.
A settlement house is a community center in slum neighborhoods that provide assistance to people in the area, especially immigrants. The house was mainly for European immigrants. By 1911, the Hull House had 13 buildings and later established a summer camp.Eventually, 25 women lived in the house. The house contained a night school, gymnasium, kitchen, art gallery, it gave kindergarten classes, and much, much more. Volunteers gave classes on literature, art, history, and other subjects, as well.The main goal of the Hull House was to give the working class an education and social opportunities. Also, the Hull House was located in a part of Chicago where there were many different ethnic groups, but once you walked into the house, you were equal to everyone there.In the first year the house was open, it had 9,000 people passing or living in it, while not one person was declined in. Jane and Ellen helped many, many people. They acted as doctors, delivered babies, helped neglected people and babies, helped women that were domestic violence victims, nursed the sick, and much more. The women that passed through that house became very prominent, successful women.
The Hull House was a huge success, and it helped thousands of people. Jane and Ellen did great things for people, and they were very inspiring to the women that lived there. I think the Hull House showed many people what caring for others really means, and it began the creation of many other settlement houses.-Sarah Konz
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