American National Red Cross. Washtenaw County Chapter.

Red Cross activity existed in Washtenaw County on an informal basis in the communities of Ann Arbor, Ypsilanti, Chelsea, Manchester, Milan, and Saline before 1917. The Ann Arbor Chapter, as it was originally titled, sought and received national recognition in February 1917. Red Cross efforts in Ypsilanti achieved similar recognition in March 1917.

Formal organization of the Red Cross continued as the United States entered World War I. In May 1917, the commissioner of the Red Cross in Michigan reported to the chapters the growing preference for administrative control on the county level. A charter for the Washtenaw County Chapter of the American Red Cross was issued soon after in June 1917. The community chapters were thereafter called branches.

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