A Bit of History for Women’s History Month

Please indulge me in a bit of history about people, places and things.

The “Thing”:

“The first meeting of the Benjamin Rose Institute Board of Trustees was held on July 20, 1908 in the Directors Room of the Citizens Savings and Trust Company.”

Benjamin Rose made his fortune in the meatpacking industry, and diversified his holdings in banking, railroads and real estate. He was one of the wealthiest men in Cleveland when he died in 1908. His will included provisions for the establishment of the Benjamin Rose Trust, and an Institute “to provide relief and assistance for . . . needy, aged people” that would be funded by that Trust. Established in an era before Social Security or Medicare, before the Pension Protection Act or the FDIC, Benjamin Rose, focused on the health and housing of older people, evolving as those needs changed, and helping establish the field of gerontology.

The ”people”:

The names of that first Board of Trustees that met in 1908 included:

Mrs. Jeremiah J. Sullivan, Mrs. Charles C. Bolton, Mrs. Allen T. Perry,

Mrs. Henry White, Mrs. John Sherwin, Mrs. W. P. Champney, Mrs. Harvey Goulder,

Mrs. Harry W. King, Mrs. Charles H. Weed, Mrs. J.M. Lewis, Mrs. Peter Hitchcock,

Mrs. Lena Lewis Riddle, Mrs. Ambrose Swasey, Mrs. Margaret Huntington Smith,

and Mrs. Imogene Fisher.

An all-women board. In a time before women had the right to vote, and few could own property.

The Roses, Benjamin and wife Julia, had planned for the creation of the Institute. It was to be their legacy, and they had envisioned that Julia would lead it. They were thoughtful about who would be asked to serve as trustees. When Julia died suddenly, Benjamin updated the will, but the commitment to establish the Institute, and who would lead it, remained as they had planned. These “true women” were entrusted with the carrying out the Rose’s vision.

It was the Rose’s intention that the Institute be “entirely free from any and all sectarian influence or control. . . as well as from the control of any medical institute, college or hospital.” An all-female board was seen as “in sympathy” with the people seeking relief, and less beholden to outside business or political interests than their husbands. Future vacancies on the board would also be filled by women. It is a feature of the Benjamin Rose board that continues to this day.

Benjamin Rose is an organization that is aware of its history. Pictures of the original board members are displayed in our board room, along with photos of the people who have served as chairs of the board of trustees. Julia Bolton was the first person to serve as board chair. Belva Denmark Tibbs is the current chair, and the fiftieth person to hold that title. The formal photos, in black and white, include names and years of service. Nancy Rome, who served as chair in 1985-1986, was the first on the list board to be identified by her first name. Prior to that, all of the women are identified by their husband’s name (Julia was Mrs. Charles C. Bolton).

Nancy Rome’s term as board chair forty years ago came at time of change for Benjamin Rose. The organization moved its headquarters to the Hanna Building in downtown Cleveland. In order to provide a more secure financial footing for the organization and its mission, the Institute hired its first Director of Development, and the Trust began to diversify its portfolio to be less dependent on real estate holdings.

Now, about the “places.”

That first meeting of the Board of Trustees was held at the Citizens Savings and Trust Company, at the corner of East Ninth Street and Euclid Avenue. Today, the building houses the downtown Heinen’s Grocery Store.

The move to the Hanna Building in 1985 took place during the renovations of Playhouse Square.

One of the properties that was part of the Benjamin Rose Trust that provided the support for the work of Benjamin Rose was the Rose Building. Opened in 1900, it was the largest office building in Cleveland at the time. A ten-story skyscraper, located at Prospect Avenue and East Ninth Street, it was initially referred to as “Rose’s Folly” because it was thought to be too far from the central business district to attract tenants. Among its features, the Rose Building was the first office building in Cleveland to have public water fountains. In 1984, the building was sold to Medical Mutual, its largest tenant. Medical Mutal sold the building in 2023. Today, Project Scarlet is in the midst of multi-million dollar renovations to convert the property to multi-family and hospitality space.

Today Benjamin Rose fulfills its mission based upon four service pillars: Home and Community-Based Services, Housing and Home Ownership, Financial Wellness and Research, Education and Advocacy. We collaborate with community partners in Northeast Ohio and across the country to address the needs of older adults and the people who care for them. As we recognize Women’s History Month this March, we honor the past accomplishments of our volunteer leadership, and we continue our commitment to make new history, as we rethink aging.

Some of the information in this blog post, including the listing of original board members, was taken from Benjamin Rose Institute, the First 100 Years, written and researched by Eileen Beal, and from The Encyclopedia of Cleveland History by Case Western Reserve University and the Western Reserve Historical Society.