ST. CLOUD - August 27th, 1893 – The St. Cloud Humane Society was formed “for the prevention of cruelty to human beings and dumb animals.”

Around the year 1890, there was concern in St. Cloud about the welfare of children and animals, and the community attempted to create a Humane Society. They tried again to form such a group in the winter of 1892-1893. But it wasn’t until two women from Chicago came that such a society was actually formed.

These two women were Mrs. Nora T. Gause and Mrs. Cora A. Meiser, and they were organizers of Humane Societies around the country. They came into town on August 24th, and gathered with a group of St. Cloud citizens at the Grand Central Hotel to discuss forming a Humane Society. After some discussion, they decided not to organize at this meeting. They thought they needed to get word out there about why such an organization was important. It was resolved to hold a meeting the following Sunday evening at the Presbyterian Church.

The church was crowded that Sunday, August 27, 1893. The large number of men and women in attendance proved that the issue was one that concerned many. Officers were elected and a constitution was written. In the articles of incorporation, it was determined that the organization would be known as the St. Cloud Humane Society and it would be a branch of the Minnesota Society for the prevention of cruelty to animals. Their object would be to “to prevent and punish cruelty to children and animals of whatever name, to procure the strict enforcement of all laws of this state relating to the prevention of cruelty to children and animals and to labor earnestly to secure the passage and enforcement of such laws, to shelter the helpless from wrong and oppression of every kind and nature.”

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Thanks to Sarah Warmka and The Stearns History Museum for their help with our series, “This Date In Central Minnesota History” on WJON.

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