Our History
On October 3, 1893, Helen Caroline Peirce, a Chicago socialite, founded the Lake View Woman’s Club. The Club played an important role in Chicago society. From the inception, Club members acted as a service organization to the community, had a forum for study and discussion, and gathered for social purposes.
The first Club project was a proposition to the Chicago Board of Education, that a kindergarten class be formed in a poverty stricken area called Clay Holes. In December 1893, a kindergarten was opened at the corner of Perry and Dunning. The Club paid for the rent, heat and maintenance, while the Chicago Board of Education provided a teacher and supplies. This arrangement continued until 1898 when the Chicago Board of Education began to fully finance kindergarten classes.
The Lake View Women's Club continued to serve Chicago’s schools and later donated many paintings, photographs and sculptures to Chicago Public Schools to expose school children to the fine arts. Helen C. Peirce served as the President of the Club and served on the Board of Directors.
Helen C. Peirce died in 1911. Carrie Norton Hopkins, a fellow Cub member, characterized Ms. Peirce as “a person with firmness of purpose, tempered with gentleness, generosity, unselfishness, helpfulness for all humanity, loyalty to friends, and joy in service.”
Members of the Lake View Woman’s Club wanted to honor Helen Peirce. They asked the Chicago Board of Education to name a school after her. The school selected to bear her name, Helen C. Peirce School of International Studies, opened its doors in September of 1915.
The first Club project was a proposition to the Chicago Board of Education, that a kindergarten class be formed in a poverty stricken area called Clay Holes. In December 1893, a kindergarten was opened at the corner of Perry and Dunning. The Club paid for the rent, heat and maintenance, while the Chicago Board of Education provided a teacher and supplies. This arrangement continued until 1898 when the Chicago Board of Education began to fully finance kindergarten classes.
The Lake View Women's Club continued to serve Chicago’s schools and later donated many paintings, photographs and sculptures to Chicago Public Schools to expose school children to the fine arts. Helen C. Peirce served as the President of the Club and served on the Board of Directors.
Helen C. Peirce died in 1911. Carrie Norton Hopkins, a fellow Cub member, characterized Ms. Peirce as “a person with firmness of purpose, tempered with gentleness, generosity, unselfishness, helpfulness for all humanity, loyalty to friends, and joy in service.”
Members of the Lake View Woman’s Club wanted to honor Helen Peirce. They asked the Chicago Board of Education to name a school after her. The school selected to bear her name, Helen C. Peirce School of International Studies, opened its doors in September of 1915.
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