Minnie Stewart House facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
|
|
Minnie Stewart House
|
|
 |
|
 Location in Illinois
Location in the United States
|
|
| Location | 1015 E. Euclid Ave., Monmouth, Illinois, U.S. |
|---|---|
| Area | less than one acre |
| Built | c. 1865 |
| Architectural style | Italianate |
| NRHP reference No. | 89001733 |
| Added to NRHP | October 19, 1989 |
The Minnie Stewart House is a historic home in Monmouth, Illinois. It is famous because a group of young women started a special club there. This club, called Kappa Kappa Gamma, was one of the first groups like it for women in the United States. The house was added to a list of important places, the National Register of Historic Places, in 1989.
The Story of the Minnie Stewart House
Around 1864, Judge James H. Stewart and his wife Isabella built this house. Their daughter, Minnie Moore Stewart, went to Monmouth College nearby.
Minnie and five friends had a big idea. They wanted to create a special club for women, like a fraternity but for girls. They met in Minnie's house between 1869 and 1870. During these meetings, they planned their new club, Kappa Kappa Gamma, and wrote its rules.
This was a very important step! Kappa Kappa Gamma became one of the first "Greek" organizations for women in the whole country. Minnie Stewart was the first leader of their college group. She also became the first national president of the larger Kappa Kappa Gamma organization. Today, Kappa Kappa Gamma is still a very well-known national group.
The house stayed in the Stewart family for many years. In 1988, the last family member living there, Mary Weir Huff, passed away. Her sons then sold the house to the Kappa Kappa Gamma group in September 1989.
Today, the Kappa Kappa Gamma Foundation takes care of the house. They run it as a historic house museum. This means you can visit it and see how people lived long ago. The rooms downstairs are decorated in a style from the Victorian era. The house was officially added to the National Register of Historic Places on October 19, 1989.
What the House Looks Like
The Minnie Stewart House is a two-story building. It is white and made of wood. You can find it at 1015 E. Euclid Avenue.
It was built around 1864. At first, it had a main two-story part. It also had a smaller one-story section and a separate building for things like laundry. Later, two more two-story sections were added to the sides. The house is built in a style called Italianate. This style was popular in the mid-1800s.
