21 Facts About Eleanor McMain

Eleanor McMain was an American settlement house worker and progressive reformer in early-20th-century New Orleans.

Eleanor McMain's parents were Jacob West McMain and Jane Josephine McMain.

Eleanor McMain was known as "Nellie" to family and friends during her youth.

Eleanor McMain's family valued education and provided young McMain with a private school education.

Eleanor McMain briefly served as a teacher in Baton Rouge before subsequently relocating to New Orleans to further her training at the Free Kindergarten Association, an Episcopal sponsored effort to provide innovations in pre-school education.

In 1900 shortly after Kingsley House formed, Eleanor McMain was appointed director of Kingsley House, a settlement house dedicated to improving integration of poor people into society.

Community activist Jane Addams visited New Orleans in 1900, and, so as to prepare for her new role, Eleanor McMain studied at Addams's two Chicago settlement houses, Hull House and Chicago Center.

Eleanor McMain established the first public playground in the city of New Orleans.

In 1912, Eleanor McMain took a leave of absence from Kingsley House to visit Chicago while recovering from malaria, and renewing her relationship with Addams.

Eleanor McMain contributed to other causes for civic reform in the city of New Orleans.

In 1905, Eleanor McMain led a clean-up and education campaign to help eradicate the yellow fever epidemic in the Irish Channel of New Orleans.

Eleanor McMain became the first president of the Women's League of New Orleans.

Eleanor McMain was a founder of an anti-tuberculosis association in New Orleans.

Eleanor McMain lobbied the Louisiana State Legislature for child labor laws and, in 1910, achieved passage of Women's League sponsored compulsory education.

Eleanor McMain worked closely with Jean Gordon and Kate Gordon in these endeavors.

In 1921, Eleanor McMain helped establish the Tulane University School of Social Work, the fifth oldest institution of its kind in the United States.

Eleanor McMain organized fund-raising by members of Kingsley House, and she garnered funds from benefactors, most notably New Orleans benefactor Frank Williams who donated $300,000 to the settlement house.

Eleanor McMain was active in the National Federation of Settlement and Neighborhood Centers, serving on its board of directors for six years.

Eleanor McMain was a member of the executive committee of the National Institute of Social Science.

Eleanor McMain was awarded the 1918 Times-Picayune Loving Cup for her community service.

Eleanor McMain was known colloquially as the "Jane Addams of New Orleans".