Willard
Elementary
Willard Elementary School History
Willard Elementary School opened in 1922. It was designed by Evanston architect Henry Raeder, who also designed Orrington School. The school is named after the world-renowned social reformer Frances Elizabeth Caroline Willard (1839-1898), who lived in Evanston for the entirety of her adult life. It is the first school in Evanston named for a woman.
Frances Willard
Although Willard is remembered for a variety of accomplishments, perhaps she is best known for her temperance (reducing or eliminating alcohol consumption) work, which she accomplished, by and large, from her home at 1730 Chicago Avenue in Evanston between the years of 1874 and 1892. Willard first became an officer of the Woman’s Christian Temperance Union (WCTU) in 1874 and later became its second President. As President of the WCTU, Willard changed the direction of the organization from one solely focused on temperance to one that was more encompassing of all issues of importance to women. Under her direction, the WCTU became the largest women's organization in the United States, mobilizing countless women to take on a wider role in the world through temperance activism. Willard thought of the WCTU as a school for women, which would give them a chance to achieve identities beyond those of wives and mothers. Her presence in Evanston made the community a player on the national reform stage, and gave local women a glimpse of a larger world.
Willard is the first woman to have a statue in the National Statuary Hall at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. Her former home at 1730 Chicago Avenue in Evanston is a historic house museum.
The D65 School History project is the result of a partnership with Evanston History Center. This research was completed by the Evanston History Center with research contributions by Remi Adjemi (ETHS class of 2027) and the Evanston Women’s History Project.
School History
Interested in the history of other District 65 schools?
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The name incorporates nearby geographical features: Lincoln Street and a wooded area.
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Orrington's site was previously home to a Potawatomi village and burial ground.
The predecessor to Park School was established in 1949 by a group of parents.
The school was named after Chicago-area philanthropists Daniel and Ada Rice.
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The yellow brick building on the corner of Main and Ashland is the original school.
The school was named after world-renowned social reformer Frances Willard.