Foundation History

 

If you want to read some fascinating history about Paul \Harris, I highly suggest you log into www.Rotary.org, and read about the Harris house. Trust me on this, it’s really interesting. Once you are in the RI site, go to “My Rotary.” It only takes a minute to register if you haven’t done it already. Then scroll down the page to “Featured Links” and select “Restoring the Legacy.”

 

As we all know, Paul Harris founded Rotary in 1905. He and his wife Jean lived at their home that was located on the south side of Chicago. The house was named “Comely Bank” (everybody named their homes in those days). It was named after a street in Scotland where Jean Harris grew up. A few months after Paul died in 1947, Jean sold the home and moved back to Scotland. On the eve on the Centennial Celebration in

2005, the home became available for sale and the Paul and Jean Harris Foundation was created to purchase the home for $550,000. Since then, the Foundation has been raising funds to pay for restoration to restore the home to the way it looked in the 1940’s. The outside is presentable, but the inside has been gutted and needs tremendous work. Progress continues, however, and the goal is to make Comley House a Rotary Historic tour where Rotarians from around the world can visit.

 

The “Restoring the Legacy” link has pictures and videos of the house and of Paul and Jean Harris. There is a great picture of the founders of Rotary and the office where the first meeting was held. Paul Harris had a Peace Garden for those who passed, and you will see pictures of that as well. Be sure to click the options at the top of the page so you can view all the information.  Like I said, trust me on this…you will love the pictures and learn more about Rotary’s