Welcome to the official Frances Willard bicycle tour presented by the Frances Willard House Museum. This tour, designed to be enjoyed as either a biking or walking tour, takes visitors on an exploration of Frances Willard's Evanston life and legacy.

Welcome and Introduction

Catering to influential families of Evanston, such as the Willards, North-Western Female College opened its doors at the beginning of 1855. Following a single term at the Milwaukee Institute, Frances and Mary Willard persuaded their father to permit their enrollment at North-Western Female College – a women’s seminary grounded in Methodist values. Later, the College would integrate into Northwestern University.   Growing up in rural Wisconsin, Frances and Mary were each other’s closest playmates and companions. As a result, the sisters developed a very close bond that only deepened during their time in school together. Frances mentioned her sister frequently in her journals, describing her as “my Only Friend that I have or ask to have” [3]. She expressed the deep affection and comfort of their close relationship and relished every moment spent together. However, like all siblings, their relationship included its share of rivalries and differences. Mary was a beauty, with a lovely singing voice, and the apple of her father’s eye [4]. In comparison, Frances was witty, independent, and preferred tomboyish activities such as hunting and horseback riding. “Frances both loved and envied Mary” [5].   In 1862, at the age of only nineteen, Mary Willard died of complications related to an earlier typhus illness. The Willard family was inconsolable, and the loss left Frances bereft. In the months following Mary’s death, Frances hardly wrote in her journal and when she did, she struggled to comprehend that her sister was indeed dead: “Oh! This has crushed out all other feelings – except a vague sense of incompleteness – of wanting some one – something – of reaching out toward the Future Life almost with yearning” [6]. To heal from the loss and memorialize her sister, Frances Willard published the book Nineteen Beautiful Years: Or, Sketches of a Girl’s Life.

Formerly located at Sherman Avenue and Lake Street, North-Western Female College was a three-year preparatory school providing young women with advanced coursework in writing, science, mathematics, philosophy, and theology [1]. Initially founded in 1855, Mary and Frances Willard enrolled at North-Western Female College in 1858. The experience instilled in Frances Willard a profound appreciation for women’s education, shaping her subsequent commitment to a career as an educator. In addition, Willard’s exposure to faculty and events at North-Western Female College began to influence her feelings about women’s role in society and marriage, thus laying the groundwork for her future women’s suffrage activism [2].

North-Western Female College

Welcome to the official Frances Willard bicycle tour presented by the Frances Willard House Museum! This tour, designed to be enjoyed as either a biking or walking tour, takes visitors on an exploration of Frances Willard's legacy through the lens of influential relationships. Given the importance bicycle riding played in Willard's wellbeing and independence, this tour fittingly invites the community on a pedaling journey across the historic fabric of Willard's beloved hometown of Evanston, Illinois

Frances Willard's contributions to the early women's rights and temperance movements were influenced (and even bolstered) by central figures in her life. This guided historic tour examines the role key relationships played in shaping the achievements of Frances Willard and the impact those achievements had on the community of Evanston. In addition, this tour serves as a complementary experience to a visit to the Frances Willard House Museum by encouraging visitors to explore Willard's Evanston neighborhood and social reform legacy. 
 
Bicycles can be rented from Divvy bike-share stations located at Chicago Avenue and Sheridan Road, Benson Avenue and Church Street, or at the university library on Northwestern’s campus. Please exercise caution and follow all rules applicable to biking and walking on urban roadways. 

We hope you enjoy Frances and Gladys: A Bicycle Tour of Frances Willard’s Evanston Life & Legacy!


Swampscot cottage, on the corner of Church Street and Judson Avenue, served as the first Willard family home in Evanston. The Willards had moved to Evanston from Janesville, Wisconsin, as Frances Willard and her sister, Mary Willard, were enrolled in North-Western Female College (this education was a luxury for women of the time). However, the decision to uproot the family from Janesville, where they had resided since 1847, and enroll the sisters at North-Western was not straightforward. The role Josiah Willard, their father, played in the family tells the story of how the Willards came to Evanston. Before attending North-Western Female College, Frances Willard and her sister spent a term at Milwaukee Female College [1]. The siblings stayed with their aunt, Sarah Hill, an instructor at the college, and Willard remembers the time at Milwaukee with fondness [2]. However, after a single term, Josiah Willard decided to end their enrollment at Milwaukee. Mr. Willard’s approval would be needed for the sisters to continue their education elsewhere.  Josiah Willard’s relationship with his family reflected norms of mid-nineteenth century America but was fundamental in shaping Frances Willard’s future. Mr. Willard had ambitions of becoming a preacher and studied at Oberlin College but left due to poor health and took up farming in Janesville [3]. While in Janesville, he was a prominent member of the community serving in the state legislature for a time and even introduced Abraham Lincoln to the 1859 Wisconsin State Fair in Milwaukee [4]. A colleague of Mr. Willard commented to Frances Willard after his death:  On the slavery, temperance, education, and other questions he was a radical. He was exceedingly orthodox, and strict in his conduct of life as it regards Sabbath observance or personal habits etc. He was more of a ‘church man’ than suited my taste or notions. But the strongest impression made on my mind by your father was, that no matter how strict the rules he might accept or teach, he was at the same time a man of great, free, brotherly spirit, who was ready to join any movement which he believed would elevate and help humanity [5]. While Josiah Willards’s progressive attitudes made him a role model for his daughter, his strictness and coldness placed pressure on Willard and the family to continuously seek his approval [6]. This complex environment is the backdrop of the Willard’s move to Evanston. After one term at Milwaukee Female College, Willard learned that her father would not send them back for another term. In her memoirs, Willard recalls, “It was the greatest grief my life had known up to that time, when I learned that my father had determined not to send us back again, because he was a Methodist and preferred a school of that denomination [7].”  Evanston and its schools were founded by Methodists. According to Willard, the family had heard of Evanston through their church newspaper and heard good reviews about the town from their cousin, Morilla Hill [8]. Mr. Willard eventually agreed to send the Willard girls to school again, but it was at North-Western this time. Although it took some convincing, as Willard recalls, “we importuned the good man of the house until he told us he thought more favorably of Evanston [9].” The Willard sisters spent one term on their own in Evanston but soon after the whole family moved from their farm in Janesville to the Methodist community of Evanston and their home at Swampscot Cottage[10].

Swampscot Cottage, a modest two-story home on the corner of Church Street and Judson Avenue, was the first home in Evanston the Willard family resided in. They began renting the property in 1859, while Frances and Mary Willard attended North-Western Female College. The decision to move to Evanston reflects the influence that Willard’s father, Josiah Willard, had on her and the family. Frances Willard’s memory of Swampscot and her father are evidence of that influence. The family ultimately left Swampscot in 1862, following the death of Willard's sister Mary.

Swampscot Cottage

Although no longer a household name, Frances Willard was considered one of the most significant and inspirational social activist leaders of the 19th century. After resigning as president of the Evanston Ladies College in 1873, Willard felt a calling to join the Temperance Crusades sweeping across the nation. By 1874, she was the first president of the newly founded Woman’s Christian Temperance Union (WCTU) of Chicago. Shortly after, she was appointed corresponding secretary of the national organization. Willard would go on to become president at both the Illinois state and national WCTU. She also played a pivotal role in the formation of the World’s WCTU. Her contributions included advocacy for women’s rights and labor rights, and she provided keen leadership for women’s suffrage and temperance movements. Through her profound national and international influence, Frances Willard made a name for herself and Evanston, Illinois.For a 19th-century woman, Frances Willard was highly educated and extraordinarily progressive in her views and advocacy. This was not due to happenstance. She had the immeasurable support and love of her mother, Mary Hill Willard, who deserves much credit for Frances Willard’s success in life. Mother Willard had a profound impact on the course of Frances Willard’s life and legacy. According to Willard, “Mother never said, ‘You must cook, you must sweep, you must sew,’ but she studied what we liked to do and kept us at it with no trying at all” [1]. This allowed Willard the freedom to explore opportunities beyond the domestic sphere deemed appropriate for young ladies of her time. Rest Cottage and Mother Willard became the touchstone of Willard’s life and accomplishments. In 1865, Willard’s father, Josiah Willard, commissioned the building of Rest Cottage. Sadly, Mr. Willard passed away just three years after its completion when Willard was twenty-nine. After various teaching positions and a couple of years of international travel, Willard and her mother settled into Rest Cottage, where they lived together for the next two decades.“Rest Cottage revolved around Mother Willard as its central luminary” [2]. It was not long into Frances Willard’s tenure with the WCTU that Rest Cottage became a hub of activity supporting her professional endeavors. Over the years, and through a series of additions, the house served as a residence for immediate and extended Willard family members and close friends, unofficial and then official headquarters for the WCTU, and lodging for WCTU workers. But, at the heart of it all, Mother Willard was the steady and supporting force at Rest Cottage who made it possible for Frances Willard to travel the world in pursuit of her calling. Mother Willard – known fondly as “Saint Courageous” – was loved and revered by all WCTU workers at Rest Cottage. On the second floor, her bedroom, where she scrapbooked, read, and wrote letters, was known as the “chamber of peace” [3]. Mother Willard not only ensured the home front at Rest Cottage ran efficiently, but she also was an active supporter and participant in WCTU activities and events. She served as president of the local WCTU and often accompanied Frances Willard’s delegation to state and national WCTU conventions, where she enchanted and entertained audiences. At a memorial service following Madam Willard’s death, Lady Isabel Somerset, Frances Willard’s close friend and fellow WCTU leader, remarked, “when the lives of mothers of great woman are written, and Frances Willard’s name stands upon those pages, it will be the mother who made her all she is for the cause of woman and humanity…” [4].“Frances Willard never severed her affectional ties with her mother, and she surrounded herself with affectionate admiring women for the rest of her life” [5]. But in 1892, at the age of eighty-seven, Mother Willard passed away. For Willard, the loss was beyond devastating. Considering her failing health, Willard left Rest Cottage in 1896, for England and passed away just six years after her mother in 1898. Rest Cottage was bequeathed to Willard’s dearest friend and WCTU colleague, Anna Gordon. She ensured that Willard’s legacy, the WCTU, and Rest Cottage would be remembered by future generations.

Built in 1865, for the Willard family, Rest Cottage served as home for much of Frances Willard’s adult life. It became the base of operations for her trailblazing work on social reform, woman’s suffrage, and the temperance movement. For over two decades, Rest Cottage acted as a home and office for Willard, informal headquarters for the Woman’s Christian Temperance Union (WCTU), and boarding house for WCTU workers. In 1900, shortly after France Willard’s passing, the WCTU established Rest Cottage as the Frances Willard House Museum. Today, the museum is open to the public and serves as a memorial, museum, and archives for Willard’s profound legacy. Visit franceswillardhouse.org for tour availability and reservations.

Rest Cottage

On May 31, 1850, a group of Methodists took the initial steps to found Northwestern University. This same group founded First United Methodist Church and the town of Evanston. Frances Willard describes the history and the prestige of the Methodist Church during her chapter on “Evanston’s Churches” in her book A Classic Town. In addition to highlighting the succession of pastors, Willard underscored its significance to the town of Evanston: “Our Methodist church has always been remarkable for the continuous presence and work of its regularly appointed pastors” [3].Willard’s faith was an important part of her life, serving as a guide to her personal values and activist work. She regularly evoked prayer and biblical discussions in her journals. Her parents, Josiah Willard and Mary Hill Willard, encouraged daily family prayers, regularly attending Sunday service, and maintaining a strict Sabbath day of rest. In her autobiography, Glimpses of Fifty Years, Willard explained that her relationship with God did not come naturally to her. Rather, she maintained that “I was not one who naturally took things for granted. It was intuitive with me to seek for causes and for reasons. My faith faculty was not naturally strong….” [4] She was troubled by the inconsistency in her beliefs, but ultimately, she found comfort in knowing that she did not have to have all the answers to have a strong faith. In a journal entry from 1859, she set forth her life intentions: “I have not yet the change of heart that Christ has promised to those who ask Him rightly, but I expect it. I feel inclined to do right more than I ever did before; - it is easy for me to be obliging and patient today, and it was never easy before” [5].From then on, Willard was an active member at First United Methodist Church. She regularly attended class meetings, revivals, and Sunday services. The church also hosted commencement exercises and church sociables for the surrounding university and community. Willard expressed missing this busy schedule during her travels later in life: “I have felt the loss of church &amp; social religious meetings &amp; our warm hearted temperance gatherings, more than I can say. How true it is that heart warms heart in holy talk along the heavenly way! But I am thankful to have known so much of ‘the assembly of the faithful’ all along the journey now full spent” [6].After her death in 1898, her memorial service took place at First United Methodist Church’s new building. Willard’s faith influenced her convictions on temperance, social reform, and women’s suffrage in addition to sustaining her through years of illness and activism work.

Founded in 1854, the original First United Methodist Church building stood on Church Street between Chicago and Orrington Avenues where the Evanston Public Library now stands. Due to its connection to Northwestern University and the founding of Evanston, Frances Willard designated the First United Methodist Church as being the “chief church of Evanston” [1] Willard’s church community was fundamental to the development of her personal faith which in turn, guided her leadership in the temperance and women’s rights movements. Today, First Church continues to be a center of worship in Evanston and strives to uphold their 160+ year “heritage of prophetic preaching, missional outreach, progressive social teaching and action, and a love of music”. [2]

First United Methodist Church

Garrett Biblical Institute was one of the focal points of Evanston’s Methodist community. The creation of the Institute resulted from the generosity of Eliza Garrett and the vision of James Dempster that “the Methodist Church stood in pressing need of theological schools”[1]. After founding several schools in Vermont and New Hampshire, Dempster went west and connected with the representatives of Eliza Garrett’s estate, and plans were made to establish a Methodist seminary in Evanston [2]. Dr. Dempster began classes in 1836, and in 1855 Garrett Biblical Institute was formally chartered following the construction and dedication of Dempster Hall [3].  The Willard family were active members of Evanston’s Methodist Community. Oliver Willard, Frances Willard's older brother, studied at Garrett Biblical Institute after leaving Oberlin College in Ohio. Oliver Willard became a Methodist minister for a brief period following graduation [4]. Frances Willard’s connection to Garrett was through the work of the American Methodist Ladies’ Centenary Association. As Evanston grew, so did the student body of Garrett Biblical Institute. As a result, there was a need for additional buildings to be added to the existing campus. The American Methodist Ladies’ Centenary Association worked to raise the funds needed to build a new dormitory [5]. Frances Willard was the corresponding secretary for the Centenary Association and was responsible for distributing letters to members around the country requesting their help in fundraising [6]. An original copy of the standard letter sent out by Willard has survived. In that letter, she invited the recipient to have their pastor read an appeal from the pulpit and organize communities of Methodist women to devise the method of “securing as many contributions as possible” [7]. The fundraising campaign was a success. A new dormitory for Garrett Biblical Institute was built and named Heck Hall. In her autobiography, Willard called her work with the Centenary Association her “first introduction to a really public career” [8].

Garrett Biblical Institute, chartered in 1855, stood where Northwestern University campus now stands. The school served as the training ground for Methodist ministers in the Midwest. Garrett Biblical Institute was just one of the institutions which made Evanston a mecca for the Methodist community. The Willard family was drawn to Evanston because of that community. As the Willards came to Evanston and became involved in the community through First Methodist Church and North-Western Female College, they became connected with Garrett Biblical Institute. Oliver Willard, the eldest child, was a student, and Frances Willard was instrumental in the fundraising for Heck Hall.

Garrett Biblical Institute and Heck Hall

By 1868 it became clear that North-Western Female College had not achieved William P. Jones’ goals for high standard education for women. In 1868 Mary F. Haskin and several other women leaders of Evanston persuaded Professor Jones to merge Northwestern Female College with their new Evanston College for Ladies [1]. The new college was dedicated not only to educating women but also to being self-governed by women, including women as students, educators, and governing board members. In 1869 the state granted the Evanston College for Ladies a charter. Evanston gave the school land in a city park for its new building, and fifteen women were named to the board of trustees. The board elected Frances Willard the first president of the college on February 14, 1871.Willard, following a trip to Europe with her good friend Kate Jackson, had been doing work around the family’s Rest Cottage home when she was asked to lead the college: “One day when Frank [Francis Willard] was busy nailing down the stair-carpet, Mrs. Kidder, whose husband was then leading professor in the Theological Seminary, came from her home across the street, and taking a seat on the stairs, said, "Frank, I am amazed at you. Let some one else tack down carpets, and do you take charge of the new college." "Very well,” answered Frank; " I shall be glad to do so. I was only waiting to be asked" [2].Willard was deeply enthusiastic about the college and her position in it. In her 1889 autobiography, she recalled: “How many times have I thought, with regrets unutterable, of what it would have meant to my own education had all those doors been open in 1858!” [3]. One of Willard’s first tasks was planning and overseeing “The Women’s Fourth of July,” where the Evanston College for Ladies raised $10,000 and dedicated the cornerstone of the new college building. The event included a co-ed baseball game between Northwestern University and Evanston College for Ladies, which ended in a score of 57 to 4 [4].Tragedy struck Chicago and the Evanston College for Ladies in October 1871, when the Great Chicago Fire struck the area and forced financial supporters to withdraw funding. “That fire changed the outlook of our college. Its hot breath shriveled our generous Fourth of July subscription list, impoverishing some of our most trusty friends and obliging us to cover up the newly-laid foundations of our great building [5].”Due to the devastation the fire left behind, and in dire financial straits, the Evanston College for Ladies was forced to cede its property to Northwestern University. As a part of the acquisition, Northwestern University allowed five women onto the board of trustees, opened the Women’s College of Northwestern University, and Willard became dean of the Women’s College [6]. Kate Jackson, Willard’s close friend, also became a teacher at the new Women’s College, teaching French [7]. Charles Henry Fowler, acting president of Northwestern University at the time of affiliation, had been engaged to Willard for a short time before Willard called it off. This relationship and differing opinions on governance led Willard to leave her position in 1874. Later Willard would describe her “trouble” with Fowler: “Dr. Fowler has the will of a Napoleon, I have the will of a Queen Elizabeth; when an immovable meets an indestructible object, something has to give way” [8].

Frances Willard's drive to educate women led her from North Western Female College to its successor. Willard was asked to become president on Valentine’s Day, 1871. As president of the Evanston College for Ladies until 1873, Willard worked with an all-women board of trustees to create a college operated by and for women. Evanston College for Ladies mainly provided room, board, and supervision to women enrolled in the program while they attended classics and science courses at Northwestern University. The college also offered instruction in fine arts, homemaking, manners, and language.

Evanston College for Ladies

Frances Willard served the Woman’s Christian Temperance Union for twenty-five years. Driven by her Methodist faith and progressive values, Willard traveled the country speaking to groups of thousands of women, advocating for women’s rights, and petitioning for the prohibition and regulation of alcohol. Through her leadership with the WCTU, Willard spearheaded successful and influential programs advocating and lobbying for labor rights, child welfare, prison reform, temperance education, and women’s suffrage. By the end of the 19th century, Although a talented and formidable woman in her own right, Frances Willard owes much of her opportunity and success to a close group of capable and intelligent women. The most important of those relationships – especially throughout her WCTU career – was with Anna Gordon. The two met at an event hosted by Chicago evangelist Dwight Moody, whom Willard was working for at the time. Willard was scheduled to speak to a large group of women. When the organist failed to show up, Willard called for a volunteer, Gordon offered to play, and the two immediately hit it off. That serendipitous incident sparked what we become a life-long friendship [1].By 1879, Frances Willard was elected president of the National WCTU. As Willard’s secretary, Anna Gordon became instrumental in developing the WCTU. She played a leading role in the WCTU’s youth education program, published numerous books and training guides, and composed sing-along tunes. Known as the “Patron Saint of Song,” Gordon often played her traveling organ at events [2]. Not only did she handle all of Willard’s correspondence, calendar, and event planning, Gordon began to take on more of the household responsibilities from Willard’s mother, Mary Hill Willard. The two women “worked together to provide Frances with a serene atmosphere,” hence the name “Rest Cottage” [3].Gordon and Willard journeyed across the country and to Europe, pursuing the mission of the WCTU. As Willard’s health became a concern, Gordon helped her learn how to ride a bicycle – a highly liberating and progressive fitness activity for a 19th-century woman. And when Willard’s health precluded her travel, Gordon served as her proxy, even giving Willard’s presidential address at the 1893 National and World WCTU convention [4]. In 1898, Gordon remained with Willard when she fell ill and then passed away in a New York hotel. In her will, Willard bequeathed Rest Cottage to WCTU, with life tenancy to Anna Gordon, who continued to live there until her death in 1931.Near the end of Willard’s tenure as president of the National WCTU, she relocated the organization’s headquarters from New York to Chicago. By 1892, the official WCTU office and corresponding Woman’s Temperance Publishing Association was in the Woman’s Temple building in Chicago’s downtown loop. At the time of Willard’s death, the WCTU voted to disassociate with the Temple due to financial concerns and inter-organizational conflict. The Temple, designed by the renowned architectural firm Burnham &amp; Root, was torn down in 1926. The WCTU headquarters was relocated to Rest Cottage and subsequently to the adjacent Administration Building.For the remainder of her life, Anna Gordon devoted herself to furthering the WCTU’s mission and perpetuating Willard’s work. In 1898, Gordon published a biography entitled, The Beautiful Life of Frances Willard. In 1899, she chaired the commission to select a sculptor for the statue of Willard to be placed in the United States Capitol’s Statuary Hall [5]. And by 1914, she followed in Willard’s footsteps to become the fourth president of the National WCTU. Although Willard did not live to witness the long-term results of her activism, in 1920, Gordon saw the fruits of their labor culminate in the enactment of the 18th Amendment (prohibition) and the 19th Amendment (woman’s suffrage).

In 1910, the Woman’s Christian Temperance Union (WCTU), headquartered at the adjacent Rest Cottage, commissioned architect Charles R. Ayars to build the Literature Building. Constructed on the north side of the property, the Literature Building was designed to house the Woman’s Temperance Publishing Association. A decade later, the WCTU outgrew their offices in Rest Cottage and re-commissioned Ayars to expand the Literature Building to a three-story structure. In 1922, the WCTU relocated its headquarters from Rest Cottage to the newly dedicated Administration Building. Although built after Frances Willard’s death in 1898, the construction of both phases was overseen by Willard’s close friend Anna Gordon. Today the building houses the WCTU library and archives.