Margaret Barry House records

The Margaret Barry House was founded in 1912 by the Minneapolis League of Catholic Women to provide classes, activities, and services in an Italian and Syrian neighborhood in northeast Minneapolis. It was named for a charter member of the League who was instrumental in starting the work and who chaired its board for many years. It was located at the corner of Pierce and Broadway Streets, N.E. Its early programs included an infant welfare clinic, a Boy Scout troop, music and drama, folk and social dancing, cooking and sewing classes, English language classes, and an employment bureau.

The Margaret Barry House maintained a staff of full-time professional social workers. It conducted year-round day and evening programs for neighborhood residents and their families. It received most of its financial support from the Community Chest and Council of Hennepin County.

One of the settlement house's most visible projects was Yardville, a recreational "workground" funded by McCall's magazine. It was publicized in the magazine and was visited by President Harry Truman in 1949.

In 1963, acting on a recommendation of the Council of Social Agencies, Margaret Barry House was consolidated with the Northeast Neighborhood House, which would later become Eastside Neighborhood Services. The League of Catholic Women presented the land, building, and equipment to the Council of Social Agencies and turned its attention toward the operation of its other social programs.

Additional information about the history of the settlement house is included in Young at Sixty-Five, a history of the Minneapolis League of Catholic Women, Inc., a copy of which is included in the collection.