Albion Fellows Bacon

Albion Fellows Bacon (April 8, 1865 – December 10, 1933) was an American social reformer and writer from Evansville, Indiana. As Indiana's foremost "municipal housekeeper," a Progressive Era term for women who applied their domestic skills to social problems plaguing their communities, Bacon had a range of reform interests. She is best remembered for her efforts to improve housing standards and her work on tenement reform. A recognized expert in the field of housing reform, Bacon was persistent in her efforts to secure passage of legislative proposals for the issue, which resulted in passage of housing legislation in Indiana in 1909, 1913, and 1917. Bacon earned a national reputation as a social reformer that resulted in her appointment to the President's Conference on Home Building and Home Ownership and served on its standards and objectives committee.

Bacon was an author of several books, pamphlets, and journal articles on tenement reform, among other issues, and wrote published books of devotional materials, poetry, and children's stories. She also worked to improve the lives of Indiana's youth through her involvement in several organizations, including leadership roles in the Indiana Child Welfare Association; the Child Welfare Committee, a part of the Women's Section of the Indiana State Council of Defense; the Indiana Conference of Charities and Corrections, and the Juvenile Advisory Commission of Indiana's Probation Department. Bacon remained active in city planning efforts, especially in Evansville. Following her death, Evansville's newspapers called her the city's "best known and most loved woman."

Early life and education Albion Fellows was born on April 8, 1865, in Evansville, Indiana. She was the youngest daughter of Reverend Albion and Mary (Erskine) Fellows. Her father, a Methodist minister at Trinity, died a few weeks before her birth, Albion's mother returned to her hometown of McCutchanville, Indiana, where she established a home and raised Albion and her two older sisters. Albion later attributed her early life in a small, rural town as a motivation in her efforts to achieve urban reform.

As a child Albion liked to write poetry and dreamed of going to an art institute, but the family's finances prohibited her from continuing an education beyond high school.

"The Last Day," a poem that Albion wrote in her youth, describes her last day in elementary school at McCutchanville: Our days at school are almost past, And this, the brightest, is the last, The last of all those hours so bright, Illuminated with sweet wisdom's light. But still the sun rolls on the same, Its burning orb of living flame, Though those who love its cheery light, Are parted from each other's sight. The brook still ripples o’er the stone, Heedless of what Old Time has done, Though those that wandered by its side, Will soon be scattered far and wide, While in the hearts of us alone, Will live the thoughts of all that's gone.

After graduating from Evansville Central High School, then known as Evansville High School in 1883, Albion worked as a legal secretary and toured Europe with her older sister, Annie Fellows Johnston, who became a professional writer.

Marriage and family Albion married Hilary Bacon, owner of Woolworth's shop in Evansville, on October 11, 1888. The couple had four children: Margaret, born in 1889; Albion Mary, born in 1892; and twins Joy and Hilary, born in 1901. Over the next few years she settled into a middle-class domestic life with her husband and children in Evansville. Soon after the birth of her second daughter, Bacon became afflicted with an illness, at that time described as "nervous prostration" (possibly clinical depression), that lasted several years. The extended illness may have had an effect, if only perceived, on her creative life.

Best known for her efforts on behalf of tenement reform in Indiana, Bacon attended every session of the Indiana General Assembly from 1909 to 1917 to secure her goal of a statewide housing law. In addition to her own efforts, Bacon rallied others to support housing reform. As a result of her persistence, the state legislature passed housing reform laws in 1909, 1913, and 1917. During these years Bacon worked as an unpaid lobbyist to secure passage of housing bills in the Indiana legislature. In 1917 Bacon reached a major milestone in her career as a housing reform activist with the unanimous passage of Indiana's statewide housing law. Sometimes called the "death trap" bill, it allowed for condemning unsafe and unsanitary dwellings.

Author As part of Bacon's efforts to secure passage of legislative proposals for housing reform legislation, she authored several books, pamphlets, and journal articles on tenement reform and other social issues. In addition, she wrote religious tracts, pageant materials, poetry, and a book of children's stories.

Bacon's efforts on behalf of Indiana's youth involved several organizations. In 1917 she became chair of the Child Welfare Committee, a part of the Women's Section of the Indiana State Council of Defense. She continued to work on passage of child labor and school attendance laws and establishing a juvenile probation system. Bacon served as president of Indiana Conference of Charities and Corrections and the Juvenile Advisory Commission of Indiana's Probation Department, a group that oversaw efforts to assess physical and health of preschool children. She was also head of the executive committee of the Indiana Child Welfare Association.

Bacon remained active in city planning efforts, especially in Evansville. In 1921 she helped establish Evansville's City Plan Commission and served as either its president or vice president in the 1920s.

Honors and tributes Albion Flats, a block of apartments that were built in Evansville about 1910, is named as a tribute to Bacon.

Albion Fellows Bacon Center, located in Evansville and serving eleven counties in southern Indiana today, is named is named in her honor. The center was incorporated in December 1981. With funding provided by a grant through the CBGD, a home was purchased and doors opened on September 10, 1982. The small home boasted enough space for 27 residents with a total of six bedrooms and two bathrooms. By January 1989, the Board of Directors had decided to build a new facility with a Capital Funds Drive. The new facility opened in 1990 with the ability to home 36 residents. In 2022, the facility expanded and added more rooms and an office wing. The organization currently provides residential and non-residential services, two 24/7 crisis hotlines maintained by trained advocates, community outreach and training, primary abuse prevention, legal advocacy, as well as children's and crisis response programs. Albion Fellows Bacon Center currently serves the following counties: Vanderburgh, Posey, Warrick, Spencer, Perry, Dubois, Gibson, Pike, Orange, Crawford, and Harrison. Despite first serving women and children, Albion Center welcomes and serves all individuals regardless of gender, race, language, disability, sexual orientation, immigration status, or background and employs a trauma-informed, survivor centered model of services .

Selected published works

Books Songs Ysame (1897), a collection of poetry (coauthored with her sister, Annie Fellows Johnston). What Bad Housing Means to the Community (1910) A Tale of the Tenements (1912) Beauty for Ashes (1914), her autobiography The Soldier's Book of Worship (1917) Consolation: A Spiritual Experience (1922) The Path to God (1928) The Charm String (1929), a children's book

Other "The Housing Problem in Indiana" (1908) "The Awakening of a State––Indiana" (1910) "The Divine Call: Follow Me" (1912) "Housing––Its Relation to Social Work" (1918) "Lincoln" (1925), a poem