Hull House became the most famous settlement house in the United States. It was founded in Chicago in 1889 by two American social reformers, Jane Addams and Ellen Gates Starr. Hull House first occupied a dilapidated mansion that originally belonged to Charles J. Hull, a Chicago businessman. By 1907, the settlement included 12 new buildings and covered an entire block.
Many reform-minded people came to live in Hull House to help Chicago’s poor. The residents organized the first public playground in Chicago in 1893 and the first juvenile court in the country in 1899. They also set up one of Chicago’s first kindergartens, and promoted cleaner streets, better housing, and laws to regulate child labor. They also taught English, government, bookbinding, and other subjects to immigrants.
Addams served as head resident of Hull House until her death in 1935. She became one of the most famous women in the nation and a leader in many reform movements. Other Hull House residents who later became prominent included the social reformers Julia Lathrop and Florence Kelley and the physician Alice Hamilton.
In 1963, Hull House was torn down to make way for a campus of the University of Illinois. But the original Hull mansion and a dining hall were preserved and made into a museum. The Hull House Association operated about 25 community centers in Chicago. The centers provided such services as child care, counseling, and housing. In 2012, the Hull House Association went out of business due to lack of funding, and the centers closed.
