A history of our commitment.
In addition to our major work of founding Bloomington’s first hospital (now Indiana University Health Bloomington), and supporting its four major expansions, the Local Council of Women have developed numerous organizations throughout the years dedicated to strengthening and supporting our community’s healthcare system.
Finding our voice.
Hopewell House
During the group's January 1905 meeting in the Gentry Hotel, Mrs. John Harris, wife of the Monon railway surgeon at the time, told of a tragic accident that occurred in October of the previous year in which a young man’s legs were mangled by a passing train and all efforts by three local physicians to save his life were unsuccessful. With no hospital facility available, the boy died in the office of the railway surgeon.
The outpouring of sympathy from the council over this horrific event set in motion tentative plans for the development of a healthcare facility that could meet the needs of the community. And, in February 1905, the following women incorporated under the name "Local Council of Women" for the purpose of acquiring and operating a hospital that could serve the Bloomington community:
- Maude E. (Showers) Wilson
- Julia A. Blair
- Lena M. Beck
- Antoinette M. Mottier
- Flora D. Kitson
- Alice A. Buskirk
- Vesta T. Rogers
- Anna B. Hill
- Atlanta C. Holland
- Laura C. Mathers
- Minnie Waldron
- Anna B. Hoffman
- Eudora Shoemaker
- Catherine A. Harris
- Sarah C. Duncan
- Charlotte Lowe Bryan
- Mable Tichenor
- Irene Burtt
Soon, a 4 ½ acre tract of land on the corner of Rogers and First Street with a barn and a two-story, ten-room, red brick house on the property known as the Hopewell House was chosen for the hospital’s location. The LCW raised $2,500 to be put towards the $6,000 purchase price of the land, as well as an additional $3,000 for repairs to the Hopewell House which was built circa 1880. And on November 29, 1905, the Hopewell House opened as the first Bloomington Hospital.
Expansion One
However, the community was growing, and the Local Council of Women set their sights on helping to develop a hospital on the same property that could continue to meet the needs of the community and started accumulating a building fund for that purpose.
In April 1917, promoted as a war measure and funded through the sale of Liberty Bonds, the Local Council of Women announced plans for a new hospital. And, in 1919, a new 35-bed limestone building was constructed at a cost of $60,000 and the old red brick Hopewell House was converted into nurses’ quarters.
Expansion Two
Bloomington Hospital Auxiliary
Bloomington Hospital Foundation
Expansion Three
Meals on Wheels
Founded by the Local Council of Women in 1973, Bloomington Meals on Wheels (MOW) has been serving our neighbors in Bloomington, Indiana for over 50 years providing medically tailored meals prepared by IU Health Bloomington and Meadowood retirement community kitchen to homebound individuals within the city limits who are unable to cook for themselves due to chronic illness, disability, injury, or advanced age.
MOW ensures that clients receive two nutritious meals per day, delivered by a friendly volunteer, helping people maintain their independence and cuts health care costs by allowing clients to remain in the comfort of their own homes. Many clients depend upon the service long-term while others only need the service temporarily as they recover from a hospital stay or illness.
Hospice Care
MOW ensures that clients receive two nutritious meals per day, delivered by a friendly volunteer, helping people maintain their independence and cuts health care costs by allowing clients to remain in the comfort of their own homes. Many clients depend upon the service long-term while others only need the service temporarily as they recover from a hospital stay or illness.
Expansion Four
Property Transfer
Transition to Clarian
Transition to IU Health
Past Presidents
Works Cited
Wier, Susan. “LCW Then, Now, & Looking Toward the Future.” The Local Council of Women Newsletter, Fall 2022, p. 2