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18. In the early 1900s, rural family life had diminished as people flocked to the cities and a number of older people were left without resources. The Rev. Norman Barr of Olivet Church in Chicago made a motion to the Chicago Presbytery to establish a home for older Presbyterians with limited means. The Presbyterian Homes charter was registered in 1904.
19. It was not until 1913 that a full-scale effort was launched to fund the Presbyterian Homes project. With just $444.76, an aging white clapboard structure was established to house six older people on Chicago’s South Side near what is now McCormick Place.
20. In 1915, due to increased demand for housing, temporary space was leased for a dollar a year to house 26 residents in an old military building in Highland Park
21. In 1915, the board of directors purchased a partially wooded 20-acre site, known as the Frank Wilson farm in a section of Niles Township that was later annexed to Evanston. Additional land was purchased and six more acres were donated. Today this property is the 40-acre Westminster Place community in Evanston.
22. A stately Queen Anne brick structure, known as the Geneva building, still stands today on the campus of Westminster Place. It welcomed 16 older adults as its first residents in 1922.
23. Westminster Place began as an operating farm with chickens supplying eggs, Holstein cows, goats, and farm horses Nick and Bill. Fruit was grown in the orchard, and residents maintained both flower and vegetable gardens.
24. Many well-known Chicago families recognized the mission of Presbyterian Homes and made generous donations. The families included the Carnegies, Mellons, Weyerhaeusers, McCormicks, Pattens, Shedds, Fields, and Kate Buckingham.
25. Many of the board members had extensive business and financial backgrounds. Frank R. Elliott, a board member for 43 years and board president for 11 of those years, was president of Harris Trust and Savings Bank in Chicago. The board wisely established an endowment fund to ensure the new organization’s long-term stability.
26. Women formed the Board of Managers and handled admissions of residents, oversaw furnishings, food preparation and housekeeping. They also planned social and spiritual activities for the residents.