Settlement Houses

Settlement houses were part of a broad endeavor to preserve human values in changing industrial times. The first settlement house, Toynbee Hall, was formed in 1884 by Samuel A. Barnett in the slums of East London. Barnett’s idea was to “settle” university men in a working-class neighborhood, where they could apply their intelligence and skills to help relieve poverty while also experiencing the “real world.” Barnett’s model influenced several Americans who imported ideas from Toynbee Hall to their local communities. The first settlement house in the United States was the Neighborhood Guild, formed in 1886 in New York City by Stanton Coit. Three years later, College Settlement opened, also in New York City; simultaneously Jane Addams and Ellen Starr founded Hull-House in Chicago.