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The first Women’s Institute, Stoney Creek, 1897

The Erland Lee Museum in Stoney Creek, Ontario, the farmhouse where the constitution was drafted, photographed in 2008.
The Erland Lee Museum in Stoney Creek, Ontario, the farmhouse where the constitution was drafted, photographed in 2008. LeeMuseum · Kristenkerr · Photo source · Photo licence: Public domain. Resized for display; item previews may be cropped. The image remains under the licence shown.
Factual accuracy review: No recorded challenge

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In 1897, inspired by domestic science reformer Adelaide Hoodless, Janet Lee drafted the constitution of the Stoney Creek Women’s Institute at her farmhouse in Ontario. The Women’s Institutes spread across Canada and the world, bringing rural women together to learn skills, promote civic reform and break the isolation of rural life.

Scope & context

The founding of the first institute, not the later history of the movement.

Sources behind this record

1
First Women's Institute National Historic Event ↗

Parks Canada

Historical importance; plaque text