ELWYN B. ROBINSON DEPARTMENT OF SPECIAL COLLECTIONS
CHESTER FRITZ LIBRARY
UNIVERSITY OF NORTH DAKOTA
GRAND FORKS, NORTH DAKOTA 58202

WOMAN’S CHRISTIAN TEMPERANCE UNION OF NORTH DAKOTA RECORDS

COLLECTION: OGL #538

DATES: 1890-1991

SIZE: .25 linear ft. and 3 microfilm rolls

INTRODUCTION

ACQUISITION: Photocopies of Western Womanhood were deposited in the Orin G. Libby Manuscript Collection at an unrecorded date. Microfilm rolls of North Dakota White Ribbon and White Ribbon Bulletin were purchased on February 23, 2000 from the State Historical Society of North Dakota. Originals of all three periodical titles are held by the North Dakota State Historical Society. A photocopy of Verna Ellsworth, North Dakota Woman’s Temperance Union: 1889-1989 was deposited on March 9, 2000. The original is at the North Dakota State Library (Bismarck, ND).

ACCESS: Open for inspection under the rules and regulations of the Department of Special Collections.

HISTORICAL SKETCH

Organized in Cleveland, Ohio in 1874, the Woman’s Christian Temperance Union is the oldest, continuous dues-paying women’s organization in existence. The WCTU of Dakota was organized in 1882 at Canton, SD, prior to which local unions had been organized in a number of towns. On September 14, 1889 the WCTU of Dakota divided into separate state organizations for North Dakota and South Dakota. The WCTU of North Dakota campaigned for women’s suffrage and against gambling and the use of alcohol, tobacco and other drugs. Adelaide M. Kinnear served as first President of the WCTU of North Dakota (1889-1893). Elizabeth Preston Anderson, an educator who succeeded Kinnear as President (1893-1933), was a tireless social and political activist. The WCTU of North Dakota celebrated its centenary in 1989. In recent years the number of local unions and members have dwindled.

SCOPE AND CONTENT

The Woman’s Christian Temperance Union of North Dakota Records consist of North Dakota WCTU periodicals (1890 – 1991) and a history of the organization: Verna Ellsworth, North Dakota Woman’s Temperance Union: 1889-1989. North Dakota WCTU periodicals include three titles: North Dakota White Ribbon (July 1890 – June 1893), Western Womanhood (July 1894 – December 1898), White Ribbon Bulletin (February 1899 – September 1991).

BOX AND FOLDER INVENTORY

Box 1

Folder 1. Western Womanhood, July 1894 – October 1896

       2. Western Womanhood, November 1896 – December 1898

       3. Verna Ellsworth, North Dakota Woman’s Temperance Union: 1889-1989 (Mandan, 
          ND: Crescent Printing, 1990)

SEPARATION NOTE

MICROFILM

Roll 1. North Dakota White Ribbon (July 1890 – June 1893) 
        White Ribbon Bulletin (February 1899 – November 1916)

     2. White Ribbon Bulletin (January 1917 – November 1951)

     3. White Ribbon Bulletin (January 1953 – September 1991)

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