Indiana University Department of Home Economics records, 1911-1999, bulk 1945-1995
A Guide to the Records at the Indiana University Archives
Finding aid prepared by Alessandro G. Meregaglia
Summary Information
Repository
Indiana University Archives
1320 East Tenth Street
Herman B Wells Library E460
Bloomington, IN 47405-7000
Phone: 812-855-1127
Email: archives@indiana.edu
http://www.libraries.iub.edu/archives
Creator
Indiana University, Bloomington. Department of Home Economics.
TitleIndiana University Department of Home Economics records, 1911-1999, bulk 1945-1995
Collection No.
C598
Extent
2.2 cubic feet (5 boxes)
Language
Materials are in
English
Abstract
The Indiana University Department of Home Economics, established in 1913, taught students "the principles and
processes involved in the science and art of homemaking." The department also ran a practice Home Management
House, which served as a practical laboratory for students to practice running a house on their own. In
January 1987, the department name changed to Apparel Merchandising and Interior Design. The collection consists
of documents and audio-visual materials pertaining to the formation and development of the Department and
information about the practice house that the department maintained on the Bloomington campus.
Access Restrictions
Collection is open for research. Advance notice required for access.
Administrative History
In June 1913, the Indiana University Board of Trustees authorized the establishment of a Department of Home Economics.
Mabel Thatcher Wellman was appointed Chairwoman of the department. Elizabeth Sage, after whom IU’s Sage Costume
Collection is now named, was added to faculty in 1913. According to the 1914 catalogue, the objectives of the
department were to "meet the need of two classes of students: of those who wished to study the principles and processes
involved in the science and art of homemaking, and of those who wished to prepare to teach Home Economics in the
schools."
The department also ran a practice Home Management house, which served as a practical laboratory for students to
practice running a house on their own. Edith Williams organized the first house in 1920. The responsibilities for
the girls who lived at the house were divided into several parts: student manager, main cook, salad and dessert cook,
general kitchen upkeep, cleaning and care of the house, and baby director. Most of the time, a baby (usually the
child of a faculty member) lived at the house full-time, sometimes for as long as two semesters. Students would live
in the house for eight weeks at a time. The house remained active until at the least of the end of the 1960s.
On January 31, 1987, the Board of Trustees approved changing the name of the department to "Department of Apparel
Merchandising and Interior Design."
Arrangement
The collection is organized into three series: Administrative History, Home Economics Practice House, and Audio-Visual Material.
Scope and Content Note
The collection is organized into three series: Administrative History, Home Economics Practice House, and Audio-Visual
Material.
The Administrative History series, 1911-1999, contains information related to the formation and development of the
Department of Home Economics at Indiana University as well at other institutions across the U.S. There are extensive
clipping files with articles from various newspapers discussing home economics. Also in the series are annual reports for
the department, information about the faculty, and an essay written in 1925 by an IU student about home hygiene.
The Home Management House series, 1945-1968, contains information about the practice house that the department maintained
on the Bloomington campus. This includes several account books and an inventory listing expenditures for items in the
house.
The Audio-Visual series, undated, contains a black and white film titled
60 Years of Home Economics
as well as numerous photographs.
-
Indexing Terms
-
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in
IUCAT, the IU Libraries'
online catalog. Materials about related topics, persons or places can be found by
searching the catalog using these terms.
-
-
Related Material
Additional records such as newsletters, annual reports, bulletins, and publications may be accessed in the
Archives of Institutional Memory.
Archived web sites for this Department may be included in
Archive-It.
Related photographs may be available in the
University Archives Photographs Database.
Administrative Information
Acquisition Information
Accession 2005/064
Usage RestrictionsCopyrights for records originating with Indiana University administrative units, departments, and other offices are held by
the Trustees of Indiana University. For more information, please contact the Indiana University Archives staff.
The Indiana University Archives respects the intellectual property rights of others and does not claim any copyrights for
non-university records, materials in the public domain, or materials for which we do not hold a Deed of Gift. Responsibility
for the determination of the copyright status of these materials rests with those persons wishing to reuse the materials.
Researchers are responsible for securing permission from copyright owners and any other rights holders for any reuse of these
materials that extends beyond fair use or other statutory limitations.
Digital reproductions of archival materials from the Indiana University Archives are made available for noncommercial educational
and research purposes only. If you are the copyright holder for any of the digitized materials and have questions about its
inclusion on our site, please contact the Indiana University Archivist.
Preferred Citation
[Item], Indiana University Department of Home Economics records, Collection C598, Indiana University Archives, Bloomington.
Processing InformationProcessed by Alessandro G. Meregaglia.
Completed in 2015
Container List
Series:
Box 1
Administrative History,
1911-1999
Apparel Merchandising Historical File,
1990-1999
Dowdall, "Home Hygiene and Care of the Sick,"
1925
Environmental Design and Fashion Merchandising Annual Report,
1984-1985
Department of Home Economics Annual Report,
1979-1984
Departmental Historical File,
1980-1984
1984-1998
Box 2
Departmental Staff Memorials,
1960-1965
Early Development of Home Economics Department,
1942
First Female Class at IU Recognition,
1967
Geiger Memorial Resolution,
1961-1987
The History of Home Economics,
1945
A History of Home Economics in Indiana,
1963
History of Home Economics at IU,
1988
Indiana Daily Student Newspaper Clippings,
1912-1969
Newspaper Clippings,
1911-1981
1956-1974
Publicity,
Box 5
Scrapbook,
1953-1968
Box 2
Wellman Correspondence,
1915-1996
Series:
Box 2
Home Management House,
1945-1968
400 Recipes Used at the Practice House,
undated
Account Book,
1947-1959
Box 3
Daily Record of Expenditures,
1945-1949
(Oversized)
Box 2
Home Management House File,
1954-1968
Inventory Notebook,
undated
Series:
Box 4
Audio-Visual Material,
undated
60 Years of Home Economicsfilm (reel-to-reel),
undated
Photographs,
1949-1979
