13 Facts About Helen Culver

Helen Culver was a successful real estate developer and philanthropist.

Helen Culver owned Hull House and rented it to Jane Addams, before later giving the property to Addams along with hundreds of thousands of dollars of donations, contributing substantially to founding the comprehensive settlement house movement in the United States.

Helen Culver was a trustee of Hull House until 1898.

Helen Culver was the youngest of the four children of Lyman and Emeliza Culver.

Lyman Helen Culver was a farmer and bought, cleared, and sold land.

Helen Culver attended local schools and began teaching at a country school at age 14.

Helen Culver enrolled in the Randolph Academy and Female Seminary in Randolph, New York.

Helen Culver's studies were interrupted when Lyman Culver suddenly died from Typhoid fever in 1852.

Helen Culver's estate was bequeathed to his widow and two children from his second marriage.

In 1854, Helen Culver relocated to Chicago, and from 1854 to 1861 she served as teacher and principal in various Chicago schools.

From 1868 to 1889 Helen Culver worked with her cousin, Charles Hull, in his real estate ventures in Chicago and around the country, including Atlanta and Jacksonville, Florida.

When Hull died in 1889, Helen Culver inherited the real estate business.

Besides backing Jane Addams, Helen Culver supported several other important scholarly causes, such as giving over $1.1 million to the University of Chicago, making her one of the University's most important early donors.