Part 1 (Mss 167, AB 859, AB 860): Original Collection, 1916-1967
Physical Description: 1.4 cubic feet (4 archives boxes) and 2 films 
Scope and Content Note

The records of Neighborhood House (1919-1967) document the programs and progress of Madison's only settlement house, and are divided into the following four groups: History and Background File, Administrative File, Correspondence, Club Records, and Films.

The History and Background File (1916-1967) includes material on both the Neighborhood House itself and the community it served. Included are pamphlets produced by Neighborhood House to document its activities, information on the area, and beneficiary studies. The information on the Greenbush neighborhood contains data on income, occupation, citizenship, and ability to speak English. The beneficiary studies record the names, addresses, nationalities, employment, and family breakdown in terms of age and sex of those involved.

The Administrative File (1919-1965) documents the corporate organization of Neighborhood House. These records are contained mainly in bound volumes and include the minutes of Executive and other committee meetings submitted by Gay Braxton. Her reports and talks as Head Resident examine in detail the programs of Neighborhood House and its role in the community. Auxiliary Board minutes contain a record of the activities and financial status of the Women's Auxiliary, established in 1937. Miscellaneous reports include attendance records at various clubs, excerpts from Public Welfare Association records regarding Neighborhood House, and a résumé of the settlement's work.

Correspondence (1920-1947) is arranged chronologically and includes general business correspondence and letters to and from the Executive Committee, Head Resident, and Purchasing Committee. Other correspondence relates to financial contributions, to Mrs. William Kittle's history of Neighborhood House which appeared in the pamphlet Neighborhood House: 1916-1941 (Box 1, folder 2), and to the Mrs. Isaac Sinaiko Memorial Fund.

Club Records (1928-1947) contain detailed accounts of the scope of many Neighborhood House activities. These papers include scrapbooks, minutes of meetings, and records of special activities. Club membership ranged in age from housewives (Good Times Club and Better Homes and Gardens Club) to teenagers (N.B.B.O. and Nu Pi Chi clubs) to younger children (Girl Scouts and Junior Better Homes and Gardens Club). The Good Times Club minutes (1946-1947) and the Nu Pi Chi Club record book (1938-1939) include individual studies of members, compiled by Neighborhood House workers, which contain a great deal of personal information.

The Films (circa 1940s) are 16 mm footage of a Neighborhood House outing and an educational film for children.

Series: History and Background File

Henry Barnbrock thesis, 1916

General, circa 1920-1967, undated

Beneficiary studies

1940-1941, 1942-1943

1943-1944, 1945 October-1946 December

1946 October-1947 December

1947 October-1948 December

Series: Administrative File

Corporate records of Neighborhood House Association Inc.

1930 May 1-1937 July 20

1937 October 11-1949 May 31

Executive Committee and Board of Directors minutes, 1921 October-1930 May

Head Resident (Gay W. Braxton) reports and talks

1919-1932

1932-1939

1940-1947

Auxiliary Board minutes

1937-1946 May

1946 October-1965

Miscellaneous reports, 1916-1925, 1941

Series: Correspondence

1920-1928

1929-1939

1940-1943

1944-1946

1947, undated

Series: Club Records

American Youth Hostel scrapbook, 1940-1947

Better Homes and Gardens Club record book

1931-1935, 1937

1938

1939

Camp Fire Alumni Association records and scrapbook, 1933-1935

Girl Scout Troup 34 scrapbook, 1943-1945

Good Times Club minutes, 1946-1947

Junior Better Homes and Gardens Club records, 1933, 1936-1938

N.B.B.O. Club

Records

1931-1934

1935-1939

Scrapbook, 1933-1938

Hawaii scrapbook, 1938

Nu Pi Chi Club

Record book

1937-1938

1938-1939

Minutes, 1936-1939, undated

Oriole Club Scandinavian scrapbook, 1938-1939

Young Men's Club minutes, 1928-1931

Series: Films

[Excerpt from Educational Film on Policemen], Producer unknown, [194-?]
Physical Description: 1 reel of 1; 123 feet; sound; black and white; 16 mm archival positive 
Scope and Content Note: Educational film for children on the duties of a policeman. Footage shows a patrol wagon, various emergency equipment, and sequences of a policeman helping schoolchildren cross a street and rescuing a cat in a tree; voice-over narration and post-dubbed dialogue.

[Neighborhood House Picnic], Producer unknown, [1941?]
Physical Description: 1 reel of 1; 397 feet; silent; black and white; 16 mm archival positive 
Scope and Content Note: Unedited footage of Neighborhood House picnic, probably in Vilas Park. Footage of all age groups, with emphasis on children: eating, talking, playing baseball, running races; interspersed with posed group shots, amateur theatricals, folk dancing, and “parades” of various sets of adult club members.

Part 2 (PH 4352): Additions, circa 1921-1966
Physical Description: 79 photographs and 141 transparencies 
Scope and Content Note: Photographs, primarily mounted on exhibit panels concerning the activities of the settlement house including groups, classes, and camps, circa 1921 to 1966. This has been assigned call numbers PH 4352 and PH 4352 (5).

Part 3 (PH 4353): Additions, circa 1921-1930
Physical Description: 67 transparencies 
Scope and Content Note: Lantern slides concerning the activities of the settlement house, circa 1921 to 1930.

Part 4 (M79-162): Additions, 1915-1980
Physical Description: 1.1 cubic feet (3 archives boxes and 1 oversize folder), and 658 photographs and 3 negatives (in 3 archives boxes, 3 flat boxes, and 1 oversize folder) 
Scope and Content Note: Additions documenting the activities of Gay Braxton, head resident, and Mary Lee Griggs, director of Parent Education and Play School; events sponsored by Neighborhood House itself, such as hosteling and boys camping; and scrapbooks of the Camp Fire Girls and the Orioles, which met at Neighborhood House. Important records include the various studies, survey data, and analysis (1926-1977) of the neighborhood population, many of whom were immigrants. One folder concerns the Triangle urban renewal project, 1973. Types of records include publications, constitutions, histories, clippings, reports, scrapbooks, speeches, and photographs. Also present are a few personal papers of Mary Lee Griggs including materials concerning Gay-Lee, the vacation home of Griggs and Braxton in Ephraim (Door County), Wheelock School (Boston) yearbooks for 1919 and 1920, and family photographs.

Mary Lee Griggs personal papers

Gay-Lee guest log

Gay-Lee cabin

Wheelock School (Boston)--yearbooks, 1919-1920

Neighborhood House

Publications

Constitution by-laws, articles of incorporation

Histories, recollections, reminiscences

Auxiliary Board

Triangle urban renewal project, 1973

Clippings, 25th anniversary, 1941

Clippings, miscellaneous

Better Homes and Gardens Committee flower show

Achievement exposition, 1929

Play School

Gay Braxton memorial play school room

Guest book, 1933-1968

Reports and talks by Gay Braxton

Activities, 1977-1980

“Handbook for Volunteer Leaders” [reference], 1932

Reference articles

Miscellaneous

Griggs retirement, 1966

Scrapbooks

#1, 1947

#2, 1936

#3, undated

Orioles club, 1939-1940

Boys camping, 1941-1942

Hosteling, 1944-1946

Neighborhood studies

Beneficiary study data

1941

1943 March-July

1944

“Report on study of Neighborhood House,” 1949

Report by National Federation, 1957

Need assessment study, 1977

Neighborhood surveys data

1926

1932

1946

Camp Fire Girls awards

Braxton, 1915

Griggs, 1931

Part 5 (M2010-074): Additions, 1960-1962
Physical Description: 0.1 cubic feet (1 folder) 
Scope and Content Note: Additions, 1960-1962, consisting of correspondence related to the Triangle Urban Renewal Project and a 1960 survey conducted by Neighborhood House to determine how many individuals and families would be displaced by the city of Madison's plans to replace existing homes with a modern apartment complex. The survey reveals that many of the affected residents owned their own homes, but were older and lacked income to relocate; Neighborhood House acted as an advocate for the displaced families.