Julia Green Scott

     Julia Green Scott was born to privilege and distinguished ancestry on February 14, 1839 in Danville, Kentucky. She was the daughter of Rev. Lewis Warner, a renowned Southern preacher and president of Centre College in Danville, and Mary Peachy Fry Green. Both parents were able to trace their ancestry back to the great-grandfather of George Washington. She was sent to one of the finest Eastern finishing schools in New York and went on to excel in the life into which she was born.

     Julia married Matthew T. Scott of Lexington, Kentucky on May 12, 1859. Together they embarked as pioneers to the north central Illinois prairie, where she and her husband were among the first residents of the town of Chenoa. Pioneers settling in Chenoa typically raised livestock, grew flax (which they used to make their own clothing), and made candles and lye soap. Chenoa’s soil is very fertile and favorable to growing crops. However, Matthew had to dig hundreds of miles of ditches for irrigation and drainage purposes since there was no natural stream flowing through Chenoa.  The Scotts also helped establish one of the first institutions in Chenoa, a Presbyterian church.  Besides owning land in McLean County, Matthew also had purchased thousands of acres of land in McLean, Ford, Livingston, Iroquois, Platt, and Vermilion counties in Illinois as well as in Iowa.

     However, Chenoa did not prosper as the boomtown the Scotts had envisioned.  They moved to Springfield in 1870, publicly because of Julia’s health, but it’s more likely that they moved because Julia was unhappy with the pioneer lifestyle. They continued to remain active in the agricultural world and held on to ownership of their many acres of land for many decades. 

     Julia and Matthew eventually settled in Bloomington. While living in Bloomington, Matthew organized and became president of the McLean County Coal Company. In 1872, they purchased a home at 701 E. Taylor, which was considered one of the three most elegant homes of the day in Bloomington. The other homes were the David Davis Mansion (completed in 1872) and Asahel Gridley’s “The Oaks” (built in 1859). Two daughters were born to Julia and Matthew in the 1870s, Letitia (known as “Lettie”), and Julia. However, Matthew would die in May of 1891.

     Julia Green Scott was a very capable woman. After Matthew’s death, she took charge of managing 9,000 acres of farmland in IL and IN as well as being the principal stockholder, and eventually president, of the McLean County Coal Company. In 1900, she expanded the family home on Taylor Street by adding 60% more floor space. Her house included conspicuous electric lights with candle backups because of the unreliability of power sources at the time and an open parlor which allowed guests to admire her belongings while they awaited her arrival. These additions cost over $10,000, which is almost $250,000 today.

     At various times, her social circle reached to the upper echelons of the nation. Her sister, Letitia, was married to Adlai Stevenson I, Vice President of the United States to Grover Cleveland. Julia’s son-in-law, Carl Vrooman, was Secretary of Agriculture during President Woodrow Wilson’s administration. Articles appeared in the Pantagraph describing the parties, receptions, and functions taking place at her Taylor Street residence. They often included a description of the flowers or other décor in place for the occasion as well as the guests. In 1901, she held a reception in her home for the Letitia Green Stevenson chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution of Bloomington, to celebrate the opening of her new home expansion. The entire house was decorated in red, white, and blue, with over 300 guests attending.

     Julia was a very active member of society. She was a member of several organizations, including the Peace Commission of the Washington D.C. Federation of Women’s Clubs as well as the Women’s Council of George Washington University. She was perhaps best known for her heavy involvement with the Daughters of the American Revolution. The D.A.R. was founded in 1890 as a healing gesture after the Civil War. It was incorporated by Congress in 1896. Letitia Stevenson, Julia Green Scott’s sister, was a founding member and its third president.

     Julia made many contributions to this organization. She was elected vice-president general in 1901, holding that office for four years. In 1909, she was elected president general after barely defeating her opponent, Miss Mary R. Wilcox in a highly publicized election. During her tenure in office, Continental Hall was dedicated as the national D.A.R. headquarters in Washington, D.C. in 1910. President Taft gave the opening address at the ceremony. It is a magnificent Corinthian-style building which still stands today as a monument to all men and women who helped achieve independence. She traveled around the country recruiting members and giving speeches promoting the D.A.R. During Julia’s time in office, the membership of the D.A.R. increased by 7,000. The organization’s financial status was strengthened as well. Upon the expiration of her second term in 1919, she was elected honorary president general, a position she retained until her death.

     As president of the War Relief Committee for the D.A.R. during World War I, she led the crusade to raise money for the benefit of French war orphans. Her efforts were acknowledged in 1921 when the French ambassador, M. Jusserand, presented Julia with The Medal of French Gratitude of the First Class in recognition of her work raising money to rehabilitate the French town of Tilloloy and the adoption of 4,000 war orphans. This was the last time she appeared in public.

     Besides her remarkable work with D.A.R., Julia was also very active in private philanthropy. The Matthew T. Scott Institute was established in Phelps, KY in 1906, in memory of her husband, to provide education for poor mountain whites using Julia’s own private funds. In 1908, Julia enlisted the interests of the D.A.R. in erecting a monument dedicated to George Rogers Clark and his companions for defending the territory of Illinois. It was built on the banks of the Ohio River near the site of Old Fort Massac near Metropolis, Illinois.

     In 1911, as one of the largest landowners in IL with 10,000 acres of farmland and an advocate of conservation, Julia sent 40 of her tenant farmers to the University of Illinois College of Agriculture to acquaint them with new and advanced methods in farming. It was a huge success for the farmers as well as the university.

     Throughout her active years, Julia often arranged her time by spending the spring in Washington, D.C., the summer in Charlevoix, Michigan, the fall in Bloomington, and the winter in Mississippi. Her summer home in Charlevoix, which she called “The Wilds,” was a beautiful cottage in a private, wooded setting near the lake. In 1918, the city of Charlevoix tried to build a sidewalk along Julia’s street. Julia, fearing the loss of her privacy and the natural environment which she loved, told the city they could build the sidewalk “over my dead body.” When the construction crew came to build the sidewalk, they found Julia and her housekeeper-companion, Mary Hunter, sitting on their property line drinking lemonade—directly in the way. To this day, there is no sidewalk directly in front of “The Wilds”.

     Aside from her philanthropy, Julia was a shrewd business woman. In 1918, her income was $118,000 which was a huge sum for anyone at that time. However, in 1921, after managing the McLean County Coal Company since her husband’s death in 1891, she resigned as President and as a Director, turning over her stocks in the company to her son-in-law Carl Vrooman and grandson Scott Bromwell.

     Just a few years later on April 29, 1923, Julia Green Scott died at her home on Taylor Street in Bloomington after suffering a paralyzing stroke. The lengthy obituary printed in the Daily Pantagraph quoted one of the U.S. Supreme Court justices as saying “I should call Mrs. Scott a great lady.” To many people, her energy and drive were an inspiration. She was buried next to her husband at Evergreen Memorial Cemetery in Bloomington.