Historic Chattanooga women’s organization highlighted in new UTC special collection

Frances Willard Home postcard, circa 1901-1907. Courtesy of the Chattanooga Public Library and the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Special Collections.

The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Library’s Special Collections has completed a grant-funded project to digitize the records of the Woman’s Christian Temperance Union of Chattanooga, making them freely accessible to researchers and the public worldwide.

The newly published Woman’s Christian Temperance Union of Chattanooga digital collection, which preserved documents dating from 1882 to 1995, contains 53 archival records representing more than 175 individual images. The collection features charters, bylaws, correspondence, financial records and photographs, many of which have been transcribed and are now fully text searchable.

The project was supported by a 2024 Tennessee Historical Records Advisory Board programming regrant funded by the National Historical Publications and Records Commission. The Tennessee State Library and Archives administered the grant.

UTC Manuscripts Archivist Molly Copeland, the principal investigator for the grant, served as project director. Assistant Head of Collection Services and Director of Special Collections Carolyn Runyon was the co-PI.

“This is a really underrepresented history,” Copeland said. “Being able to put documents that represent the history of a women’s organization that had a huge national impact as well as a local impact … we don’t have an abundance of records about them, but to be able to provide access to the ones that we do have helps ensure we’re able to preserve that legacy.”

The Woman’s Christian Temperance Union (WCTU), founded nationally in 1874, grew to become one of the most influential women’s organizations of the 19th century.

The Frances Willard Home, as shown in 1928, stood for nearly 50 years at 615 Lindsay Street near the University campus.. Photo courtesy of University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Special Collections.

In Chattanooga, a local chapter formed in 1882 following a speaking tour by national president Frances Willard. By 1887, the group had opened a boarding house for self-supporting, unmarried women, offering low-cost housing in a supervised Christian environment. That home—later renamed the Frances Willard Home—eventually stood for nearly 50 years at 615 Lindsay Street near the University campus.

The digital collection at UTC, Copeland said, offers unique insights into the local chapter’s activities and social reform efforts.

Work on digitizing the WCTU collection began in late 2024. A portion of the grant award was used to hire UTC political science and public policy major De’sha Wilkins, a rising senior who spent six months scanning, transcribing and describing documents.

Many early handwritten materials were transcribed by hand to aid accessibility and searchability. A limited number of materials were deemed too fragile to digitize, such as brittle pages from circa 1902 held together with metal fasteners and adhesive; however, they remain accessible to researchers through the Special Collections’ published finding aid.

Copeland said the project’s completion represents both a milestone in preservation and a step forward in making local history more accessible.

“Every time we are able to add a digital collection, we’re providing global access to these materials that represent part of Chattanooga’s history,” she said. “Digital collections provide more than just access to the documents. The process of digitization enhances usability because we’re able to create detailed descriptive records for each item, which provide users with important contextual information about when and how the records were created.”

Copeland said the project’s outreach included public presentations, social media posts, a student blog and an article submission to the Society of Tennessee Archivists’ Tennessee Archivist newsletter—which is due to be published this fall.

“This project wasn’t just about digitizing documents,” she said. “It was about bringing attention to a local chapter of a national organization that helped shape some of the most prominent political movements of the 19th and early 20th centuries, women’s rights, prohibition and social welfare—and making that history visible and accessible to everyone.

On the local level, Copeland said, it was important to preserve the history of the Willard Home, a long-standing institution in the city that “represents a housing model we just don’t see anymore.”

“For the many young women who moved to Chattanooga for school or work, the Willard Home formed the basis of their community and social life in the city,” she said.

The WCTU of Chattanooga records join a growing list of digital collections hosted by Special Collections, bringing the current total to 60.

“When we add a new digital collection, we offer widespread, equitable access to the primary sources that tell Chattanooga’s story,” Runyon said. “It’s Special Collections’ way of democratizing access by enabling anyone with an internet connection to search, view, download and use archival materials that would otherwise require a visit to Special Collections.

“We exist to preserve and provide access to our shared history, and opportunities like the State Board Programming Regrant from the Tennessee Historical Records Advisory Board allow us to open our collections to a wide audience. These grants also allow Special Collections to supplement the University’s curriculum by giving our students hands-on experiences that may help them pursue graduate degrees in library and information science or careers as archivists.”

Copeland added that each new collection represents another essential piece of the city’s cultural and civic identity.

“A collection like this helps make Chattanooga part of the larger historical conversation,” she said. “It’s our way of ensuring these stories are preserved and discoverable.”