1402 St. James Court (Elaine Ray Caldwell)
Residence of Elaine Ray Caldwell from 1906-1925
In 1906, this home was occupied by Elaine Antoinette Ray Caldwell and her family. Elaine was born in Rutland, Vermont to John and Louise Francimay Ray. Her father was a carpenter while her mother kept house and raised the couple's 8 children. By 1860, when Elaine was born, the way women leveraged their position in the domestic sphere had already begun to evolve. Prior to 1860, women and men operated in two distinct spheres, the domestic sphere of women and the public sphere of men and it would be in this new and evolving world that Elaine Caldwell leveraged her own position to become one of Louisville’s leading club women.
The woman’s club movement was a social movement predominantly in the United States, in which women banded together to transform public policy because they felt they had a moral duty to do so. These clubs were not an overnight phenomenon, but had been around for years prior to them being considered a movement during the Progressive Era. The clubs typically started out as social or literary gatherings in the home, branched out and focused on an array of issues from education and temperance to environmental protection and library creation. Elaine Caldwell became involved in the club movement, focusing her efforts on two specific issues; women in business and the Louisville Free Children’s Hospital.
The Business Women’s Club (BWC) was an organization located in downtown Louisville near today's 4th Street and Muhammad Ali Boulevard. It promoted the welfare and happiness of women, particularly those in business. It was a resource for lower-and middle-class women to learn new skills such as bookkeeping and shorthand. Women could also obtain safe lodging and a hot meal, and find a place for socialization. The BWC also had one of the largest libraries in the city.
In Elaine’s early 20s she helped support her parents by taking the position of a milliner in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, where the family had relocated. Elaine exhibited her hats at state and local fairs and was known for her detailed feather work. While in her position, Elaine gained first hand knowledge of how to keep accounts, what it meant to run a business and understanding market trends.
By the time Elaine joined the BWC in the early 1900s as head of the Finance Committee for the organization, she was no longer a career woman. However, Elaine possibly found the organization beneficial to up and coming women who were venturing out into the world of business and the working class, especially considering it was a resource she herself did not have when she was a milliner.
When she was not fundraising for the BWC’s efforts, Elaine formed and hosted Charity Balls for the Louisville Free Children’s Hospital. Unfortunately, by 1925 Elaine suffered a massive stroke leaving the entire left side of her body paralyzed. Elaine remained in the home, being looked after by a nurse until her death in 1926. She was remembered in her obituary as a prominent member of her church and club woman.
Today Elaine's home is the a historic house museum, the Conrad-Caldwell House, which is open to the public on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. Its mission is to preserve and share Louisville’s rich Gilded Age and Progressive Era history. In honor of Elaine's work, the Conrad-Caldwell House Musuem is featuring a special exhibit, Mothers, Matrons, and Moguls: The Empowering World of Female Philanthropy showcasing Elaine’s work in the community. Learn more at: https://conrad-caldwell.org/.