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The Settlement Lady
Lacey Diesel "I've always been interested in unpopular causes," was something Mary E. McDowell often said. A pioneer social reformer, a peacemaker, and a doer, McDowell accomplished great things for a vast number of people. She truly was a cherished person, not only in her Southside Chicago neighborhood, but throughout all of Illinois. Mary E. McDowell was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, on November 30, 1854, to Malcolm and Jane Welsh (Gordon) McDowell. Educated in public and private schools, she entered the field of social work at age twenty. Jane Addams's well known Hull-House drew her to Chicago. As an outstanding associate of Addams, McDowell was requested to move to the University of Chicago settlement in the Union Stockyards District where she became the director and headed the settlement home. In the spring of 1893, graduate students from the University of Chicago established a location in the heavily populated stockyard district. This neighborhood, where the first house was to be located, was inhabited predominately by immigrants. It was located near 47th and Ashland Avenue. The home was finally opened in 1894. This small flat, which was named the University of Chicago Settlement, was later renamed after McDowell. The funds for this residence came from the philanthropic committee of the Christian Union of the University of Chicago. McDowell lived among the people. Therefore, McDowell gained a deep understanding and personal sympathy due to the fact that she experienced everything that the people of the house did. As she
became increasingly involved with her work, McDowell developed a new philosophy. She pioneered the idea that social workers should live in communities where they studied and assisted, and not merely spend their working hours there. Because of her positive attitude and new philosophy, the settlement grew slowly and steadily prospered. McDowell did everything she could to make the settlement blossom. She developed a kindergarten, and in 1896 she rented four flats and an adjacent shop. This new space accommodated clubs, classrooms, lectures, and concerts. Not long after, McDowell purchased another four lots located on Gross Avenue, later renamed McDowell Avenue. "Neighbor" accurately described McDowell. In a biography about McDowell, the author stated that McDowell was, "that new kind of neighbor that gossips in statistics and uses the facts other neighbors' lives to better their living conditions." The settlement house adopted this good-neighbor policy and served the needs of the community. McDowell, affectionately known as the "settlement lady," broke down the ethnic barriers that had been separating the people, and created a unity among them. Not only did this settlement house create a brother- and sisterhood in the community, it also provided much needed services, for the neighborhood. Immigrants were offered English lessons, classes in nutrition and personal hygiene, and access to public bathhouses, playgrounds, and vocational schools. McDowell constantly raised her voice on matters to better the community. She believed the neighborhood needed cleaning up, so she harassed local alderman until the job was completed. Instead of simply forcing someone else to do the work, she got her hands dirty as well. As was the case with the neighborhood cleanup, McDowell not only confronted the alderman, but started to work closely with them. To add to her knowledge she made trips abroad to study new methods of waste disposal and ways to make the neighborhood a more pleasant and healthy environment. This "take-charge" attitude paid off. As time passed she began to realize that to accomplish her goals faster, she had to have political power. Therefore, in 1914, she became the Progressive Party's candidate for county commissioner, and in 1923 Mayor William E. Dever appointed her public welfare commissioner. McDowell voiced her opinion on many other matters. She fought for equal rights among the sexes and races and sought better rights for the workers. Being a female, McDowell was deeply concerned with the plight of women. She founded the Women's City Club and acted as the first president of the Illinois Women's Trade Union League. Also, following the Chicago Race Riots in 1919, she established the first interracial committee for women. McDowell was actively involved in many interracial organizations. Among these was the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and the Chicago Urban League. Being such a vocal person, McDowell associated with many famous people. Among those who came to visit her settlement were Thomas G. Masaryk, the first president of Czechoslovakia; Senator Medill McCormick; educator Booker T. Washington; and author Upton Sinclair. The latter's visit took place during his research for The Jungle. McDowell was not only involved in the settlement house, but with many other organizations as well, including the Illinois Equal Suffrage Association, the National Child Labor Commission, the American Sociological Society, and the National Episcopal Federation for Social Services. She also acted as chairman of the National League of Women Voters' Committee on International Cooperation and served as director of the Chicago Immigrants' Protective League. McDowell lectured on many issues, such as industry, social reform, and women's rights. For her outstanding work giving these lectures and her many writings in newspapers and magazines, she received various honors. She became an honorary member of the Sociological Department and was knighted in the Order of the White Lion by the President of Czechoslovakia. Mary E. McDowell died in October 1936 at the age of eighty-one. Despite her death, the Mary McDowell Settlement, formally known as the University of Chicago Settlement, kept growing strong. In 1967 it merged with the Chicago Commons Association, a social service agency that now runs seven community settlements in Chicago. Every summer the Chicago Commons Agency sponsors a camp held in Michigan that offers gang prevention programs. Mary E. McDowell was truly a pioneer in early social reform of the inner cities. She defended freedom of speech, religious tolerance, and constructive politics. McDowell also fought for a better life for immigrants, women, blacks, and workers. She stood for equality and hard work and she stated her mission best by saying, "We believe that God hath made of one blood all nations of men, and that we are His children, brothers and sisters of all."— [From Agness Geneva Gilman, Who's Who in Illinois; John William Leonard, Woman's Who's Who of America; June Skinner Sawyers, Chicago Portraits: Biographies of 250 Famous Chicagoans.]
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