Neighborhood House was established in 1916 as a settlement house for the largely Italian immigrant community in Madison's “Greenbush” section. The economic and social problems of this area, located between South Park Street and Brittingham Park, had been brought to the city's attention by University of Wisconsin student Henry Barnbrock's thesis, written in 1916. Initially, the settlement house was called the Community House, but in 1917, it assumed its present name of Neighborhood House.
Neighborhood House patterned itself after other settlement houses of the time. According to its 1930 statement of purpose, the aim of Neighborhood House was: “To provide a center for higher civic and social life, to initiate and maintain educational and philanthropic enterprises, and to investigate and improve conditions in the immigrant neighborhoods of Madison.” Programs were developed to meet the needs of all members of families living in the area. Some of the clubs and activities included English and citizenship classes, music, dancing, cooking and social clubs, block parties, and festivals. In the late 1940s, the focus of Neighborhood House activities shifted from education to community organization and action. This change was in response to the shift in the area's composition from an Italian immigrant community to a more heterogeneous lower income neighborhood.
During its early years, Neighborhood House was an administrative organ of the Associated Charities, later known as the Public Welfare Association. In 1921 an Executive Committee was established as the chief governing body. In May 1930 Neighborhood House became independent of the Public Welfare Association, receiving funding directly from the Community Union and the state Vocational Board. The Executive Committee assumed control over policy and budgetary matters. A Board of Directors, composed of members of the Executive Committee, representatives of the neighborhood, and other interested parties, was established at that time. In 1949 the Vocational Board's support ended, and the House became part of Madison Neighborhood Centers.
Gay W. Braxton, Head Resident at Neighborhood House from 1921 to 1949, was a major figure in its history. A graduate of Smith College and the Kindergarten Training School in Chicago, she had worked at Graham Taylor's Chicago Commons, and had served as a social worker in Virginia cotton mills, and as the head resident of a Quincy, Illinois settlement house before coming to Madison. Mary Lee Griggs, a lifelong friend of Gay Braxton, came to Madison in 1922, and remained with the House until the late 1960s.
