Guide to the Fannie Wall Children’s Home and Day Nursery, Inc. Records

Sean Heyliger

African American Museum and Library at Oakland

659 14th Street

Oakland, California 94612

Phone: (510) 637-0198

Fax: (510) 637-0204

Email: aamlo@oaklandlibrary.org/locations/african-american-museum-library-oakland

Guide to the Fannie Wall Children’s Home and Day Nursery, Inc. Records

Collection number: MS 162

African American Museum and Library at Oakland

Oakland, California

Processed by:: Sean Heyliger
Date Completed:: 03/01/2013
Encoded by:: Sean Heyliger

Descriptive Summary

Title: Fannie Wall Children’s Home and Day Nursery, Inc. records

Dates: 1933-1983

Collection number: MS 162

Collection Size: .25 linear feet (1 box)

Repository: African American Museum and Library at Oakland (Oakland, Calif.)

Oakland, CA 94612

Abstract: Established in Oakland, California on November 20, 1918 by the Northern Federation of Colored Women’s Clubs, the Fannie Wall Children’s Home and Day Nursery, Inc. was created to “care for homeless, dependent, neglected children from broken homes, and to provide day care for children of working parents.” The Fannie Wall Children’s Home and Day Nursery, Inc. Records consist of correspondence, reports, meeting and fundraising programs, and newspaper clippings that document the management of the children’s home.

Languages: Languages represented in the collection: English

Access

No access restrictions. Collection is open to the public.

Access Restrictions

Materials are for use in-library only, non-circulating.

Publication Rights

Permission to publish from the Fannie Wall Children’s Home and Day Nursery, Inc. Records must be obtained from the African American Museum and Library at Oakland.

Preferred Citation

Fannie Wall Children’s Home and Day Nursery, Inc. records, MS 162, African American Museum and Library at Oakland, Oakland Public Library. Oakland, California.

Acquisition Information

Collection materials were donated as part of the Hackett Family Papers. Archival material removed and finding aid created by archivist on February 28, 2013.

Processing Information

Processed by Sean Heyliger on 03/01/2013.

Biography / Administrative History

Established in Oakland, California on November 20, 1918 by the Northern Federation of Colored Women’s Clubs, the Fannie Wall Children’s Home and Day Nursery, Inc. was created to care for homeless, dependent, neglected children from broken homes, and to provide day care for children of working parents. The home was located at 1215 Peralta St. in West Oakland from 1918-1928 before moving to a larger facility at 815 Linden St. where it would remain until 1962. The home could accommodate up to 20 resident children and 8-15 children for day care services and was operated by a professional staff of over ten employees that included social workers and a volunteer psychiatrist. The home was managed by a Board of Directors, which largely consisted of members of the Northern Federation of Colored Women’s Clubs, a community advisory committee, and an executive director who oversaw the home’s day-to-day operations. The home received funding from a variety of sources including rent from an apartment in Berkeley donated by Josephine Sutton, Community Chest, the Dreiser Trust, and through fundraising events coordinated by the home. In 1962 the Oakland Redevelopment Agency purchased the property at 815 Linden St. in order to demolish the building for the Acorn Project. The home moved to its current location at 647 55th St. but initially struggled to obtain a license from the Social Welfare Department, and the home was not re-opened until 1967 as part of a placement program for the Alameda County Welfare Department. The home was forced to close again in 1970 for remodeling and reopened in 1978 as a child daycare facility and Head Start Center.

Scope and Content of Collection

The Fannie Wall Children’s Home and Day Nursery, Inc. Records consist of correspondence, reports, meeting and fundraising programs, and newspaper clippings that document the management of the children’s home. A majority of the records relate to the home’s Board of Directors meetings, fundraising efforts, and reports on the financial operations of the home.

Arrangement

Series I. Administrative files Series II. Newspaper clippings

Indexing Terms

The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.

Fannie Wall Children’s Home and Day Nursery, Inc.

Children--Institutional care--California.

Group homes for children--California.

African Americans--California--Oakland--Social conditions--20th century.

Hausler, Don. The Fannie Wall Children's Home. Oakland Heritage Alliance News, Summer 1986, 1-4.

Related Material

Colored Women’s Clubs Associations Collection, MS 1, African American Museum and Library at Oakland.

Administrative files

Physical Description: 11 folders

Series Scope and Content Summary

Includes correspondence, reports, a newsletter, fundraising and meeting programs, Board of Directors roster, and employment records that document the operations of the Fannie Wall Children’s Home and Day Nursery.

Box 1:1

Fannie Wall Children's Home and Day Nursery, Inc. correspondence 1937-1971