South End House (Boston, Mass.)

Part of a national settlement house movement during the Progressive Era in America, the South End House opened its doors in Boston, Massachusetts, as the Andover House in 1891. Its founder, Dr. William J. Tucker, was a Congregational minister and social reformer who taught at the Andover Theological Seminary located in Andover, Massachusetts. Dr. Tucker immediately hired Robert A. Woods to act as the house's director. Woods was very involved in progressive reform movements on the national level and in the settlement house movement in Boston. One of the first things Woods did was to change the organization's name to the South End House as its original name reflected an association with the Andover Seminary; the new name evoked more of a connection to the community it served. As the organization's by-laws state: "the object of the Corporation shall be to establish and maintain a House in the City of Boston as a residence for college graduates and others engaged in work for social and moral betterment with particular reference to the neighborhood in which it is located." Workers and volunteers under Woods' guidance lived in the South End House and interacted on a daily basis with residents of Boston's impoverished South End neighborhood. As many of the neighborhood's residents were immigrants, much of the workers' efforts were aimed at assimilating these individuals to American life. In 1960, the South End House merged with the Harriet Tubman House, the Children's Art Center, the Hale House, and the Lincoln House to form the United South End Settlements. By joining forces, the five area settlement houses were able to pool resources, share programs and space, and reach a larger community. Today the United South End Settlements/Harriet Tubman Gallery is an active neighborhood center still very much involved in youth programs, local art, and community outreach.

From the description of South End House Association records. (Simmons College). WorldCat record id: 48072876

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