Wells Memorial House (Minneapolis, Minn.)

The Wells Memorial House, Minneapolis, was organized in 1908 by St. Mark's Protestant Episcopal Church. The impetus for the formation of the House came when St. Mark's moved its parish from Sixth Street and Hennepin Avenue in downtown Minneapolis to Hennepin Avenue and Oak Grove Street in the Loring Park area of Minneapolis. In order to maintain its ties with its former parishioners living in central Minneapolis, $50,000 was donated to maintain a chapel in the area. Under the leadership of the Reverend Charles E. Haupt, a building was constructed at 116 North Eleventh Street, and on September 17, 1908, the first meeting of the board of managers of the Wells Memorial House was held. The constitution and bylaws of the House were adopted on September 28, 1908, and the Reverend Irving P. Baldwin was named president. The House was named for Thomas B. Wells, who was rector of St. Mark's from 1880 to 1891.

The purpose of the House, according to its articles of incorporation, was "to establish, maintain and operate a Christian social settlement, and to assist other associations and institutions with charitable and benevolent aims..." In its years of operation the House carried on many activities, including a free dispensary, mental clinic, pathology laboratory, and a tuberculosis clinic, all in cooperation with St. Barnabas Hospital. It also operated a kindergarten, day nursery, library, employment bureau, a chapel, and a day camp, the Catherine J. Welles Camp at Big Lake, Minnesota. In December of 1930, the House was incorporated.

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