Rockport Lodge (Rockport, Mass.)

A vacation house for working women of low and moderate income, Rockport Lodge began in 1906 with the purchase of a house and property by the Massachusetts Association of Women Workers. The Lodge provided a variety of activities for its guests, including tennis, hiking, stunt nights, workshops (ranging from quilt-making and painting to money management), and concerts. After earlier affiliations with the Massachusetts League of Women Workers, and the Massachusetts League of Girls' Clubs, the Lodge became affiliated with the Women's Educational and Industrial Union (Boston, Massachusetts) in 1946. After several years of financial difficulties, the Lodge closed in 2002, and the following year the property was donated to Wellspring House, a local non-profit organization serving the needs of women with limited resources. Wellspring intended to build low-income housing on the site, but found this project economically infeasible, and in 2007 put the property on the market.