American Woman’s League Chapter House - Andover, Illinois

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American Woman’s League Chapter House - Andover, Illinois
The home of August Rehnstrom was built in 1861 by Eric Berglof, and served as a temporary haven for Swedish immigrants in the 1860s. This is a “Class I” Chapter House, the smallest standard design, many of which were built all across the country by the American Woman’s League.

The league built 38 chapter houses for its members in 16 states while hundreds more were planned. The St. Louis architectural firm of Helfensteller, Hirsch and Watson designed the five prototypes, which were scaled to accommodate different-sized communities. All were cruciform in plan and combined stylistic characteristics of the prairie school and arts and crafts movement in both their exterior massing and exterior and interior detailing. All came fully furnished with mission-style furniture, fixtures and carpets for the meeting rooms and included a salesroom for the Woman’s Exchange" where members’ handicrafts were sold together with the AWL publications and products from the Art Academy. The chapter houses became social, educational, and cultural centers for their members and were meant to enable women to acquire some business skills as well. However, bas reliefs above the fireplaces were entitled ‘Woman’s Mission" and idealized woman’s role of homemaker and nurturing mother.

While the university. the postal library, and the Women’s Exchange were intended to ready women for the workplace and the vote, the reorganization of the league in 1911 into the American Women’s Republic was to prepare them for an expanded role in government. The republic was modeled after the United States government. At its first congress held in University City in 1912, Mrs. Belva Lockwood, the republic’s attorney general, who had been the first woman to run for president of the United States in the election of 1884, swore Mrs. Mabel Lewis in as its president. E. G. Lewis planned for the American Women’s Republic to continue as a separate but equal organization until women’s suffrage was granted and it could merge with the republic of the United States.

Listed in the National Register of Historic Places, 1980

Open June-August 1st Sunday of each month, 1-4pm - other times by appointment. Group tours by appointment only.

Location: West side of Locust Street, north of Fifth Street, Andover, Illinois