Bertha M. Stiles becomes first housemother of Normal Hall

In the spring of 1897, here represented as March 1, 1897, Normal Hall—the women’s residence at Washington College—opened, and Bertha M. Stiles assumed duties as the college’s first housemother.[7] The role of housemother, common on late nineteenth‑century campuses, placed a woman in formal charge of young women’s residential life, discipline, and moral oversight. That Stiles, already the first woman on the faculty, was chosen for this post demonstrates both her standing in the community and the college’s recognition that women students required an advocate and caretaker within the institutional structure.

This development had deep gendered significance. Coeducation at Washington College, begun in 1891, initially focused on admitting women to classes; the establishment of a dedicated women’s residence and a housemother signaled a more comprehensive integration of women into campus life, including social and residential domains.[7] Stiles’s presence in Normal Hall helped create a safer, more stable environment for women students at a time when critics of coeducation frequently cited fears about propriety and student behavior. By embodying both academic authority and residential leadership, she bridged spheres often kept separate for women. Her service as the first housemother at Normal Hall thus marked a crucial step in building the infrastructure that allowed women not only to enroll, but to live and flourish at Washington College.