Adelaide Hoodless - Legacy

Legacy

Adelaide’s achievements were indeed very substantial, and they signaled a new era of activism for women at the dawn of a new century. Her death in 1910 was deeply felt at the time. Adelaide has been commemorated in varied ways throughout the century since her death.

Adelaide is credited as a co-founder of the Women's Institutes, the National Council of Women and the Victorian Order of Nurses. She was a major force behind the formation of three facilities of Household Science. All of her accomplishments have had a profound and long lasting effect on Canadian society, and all of these organizations are still in existence today.

The Victorian Order of Nurses is Canada’s largest, not-for-profit homecare organization. With a staff of more than 7000 and supported by more than 14 000 volunteers, it is a daily presence in the lives of many Canadians.

There are Councils of Women in 20 cities, in 5 provinces, along with 27 affiliate organizations. The National Council of Women has met formally with the members of the federal Cabinet since 1924 to advocate for policies developed through a grass roots process of consultation and debate.

The Women’s Institute, internationally organized through the Associated Country Women of the World, has a membership of over 9 million member societies in over 70 countries.

The University of Guelph recognizes her contribution to education by hanging her portrait in what was once called the MacDonald Institute.

In 1911, the year after she died, one of Hamilton’s new schools was named after her. Her beloved husband, John, laid the cornerstone. There are also schools named after her in Bridgeworth, and Blaine, Ontario.

On October 27, 1937, some 300 people watched Lady Tweedsmuir unveil a cairn dedicated to Adelaide’s memory. The cairn can be found at the intersection of Blue Lake Road and Highway #24, near St. George, Ontario. To this day, it is cared for by the Brant District W.I.

In 1975, an Adelaide Hoodless rose developed by Dr. Henry Heard Marshall at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada is also named after her.

In 1993, Canada Post issued a postage stamp, designed by artist Heather Cooper.

In 2003, the Hoodless Garden, was created as a part of numerous celebrations to mark the 100th anniversary of the founding of the MacDonald Institute in Guelph, Ontario. A sculpture by artist Jan Noestheden takes the form of a larger-than-life aluminum portrait, mounted 6" away from the wall, so light will shine through the image and cast a shadow.

Adelaide’s childhood home was acquired by the Federated Women's Institutes of Canada (FWIC) in 1959. The home was owned by the Hunter family for 55 years, and in the century since Adelaide’s death, it has been owned by the FWIC for 51 years. It is now a National Historic Site and is operated as a museum: the Adelaide Hunter Hoodless Homestead.

One hundred years after the death of Adelaide Hunter Hoodless, her commemoration does not exist in quantity, but it does exist in quality. Women around the world know her name, and through the organizations she founded, people are cared for, women have increased mutual support, and those who work in the home are well-supported and respected.