Women’s Institutes of Ontario – Waterloo District Women’s Institute

The Women’s Institute movement was started in Ontario in 1897 through the combined efforts of Erland and Janet Lee and Adelaide Hunter Hoodless.

The Women’s Institute’s mission promoted knowledge for rural women that led to improvements in home sanitation, better understanding of economic and hygienic value of foods and fuels, enhanced care of children, and raising the general standard of health. The original focus of domestic science education was expanded to include personal growth opportunities, government lobbying, and health and community wellness initiatives.

The earliest Women’s Institutes in Waterloo County began in Winterbourne in 1902 and in Wellesley in 1903. At one time, there were 33 Women’s Institute Branches in Waterloo Region.

In the mid-1930s, Branches were encouraged to start keeping local history books which became known as the Tweedsmuir Village History Books. The Branches in Waterloo Region have faithfully created and preserved these scrapbooks for many decades.

For more than 100 years the Women’s Institute movement has grown into a global organization operating in more than 60 countries helping women assume leadership roles in their communities.

Today, there are four Branches left in the Waterloo Region – Bloomingdale, Branchton, Maple Grove and New Dundee.