Caroline Earle White

Winter Hours:
The grounds will be open as weather and staffing permit.
House tours are available by appointment.
You can reach us at 215-848-1690 or by emailing info@wyck.org.

Advocate for Animal Rights

March 28, 2020 at 2pm

The Animal Welfare Movement: How Women Changed the Way Animals are Treated in our Society

Fifty years before women attained the right to vote, a group of Philadelphia women led by Caroline Earle White created a national movement and profoundly changed the way animals were viewed and treated in our society.

Mrs. White was an abolitionist, author, champion for women’s rights, and a key founder of the animal welfare movement in the United States. She led countless others, especially women, to join forces to end cruel practices and created animal sheltering. In 1869 she founded the first animal shelter in America, known today as Women’s Animal Center.  She founded the American Anti-Vivisection Society in 1883 to address the suffering of animals in science. Both organizations continue Caroline Earle White’s legacy today and remain focused on the humane treatment of animals and education for future generations.


Join Sue Leary, President and CEO of the American Anti-Vivisection Society, and Cathy Malkemes, CEO of Women’s Animal Center, for a historical journey into the past and learn about their organization’s present day work.

Program recommended for guests 12 and older. Tickets are $25; Friends of Wyck pay $20; Students under 25 with school ID $10. For any questions about the program, or to purchase tickets over the phone, please contact Tess Frydman, Director of Interpretation and Public Outreach, at 215.848.1690 or at tfrydman@wyck.org.


Vision 2020 is a national women’s equality initiative headquartered at Drexel University’s Institute for Women’s Health and Leadership. In the year 2020, Vision 2020 will lead Women 100: A Celebration of American Women to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution: women’s right to vote. Throughout the year, Philadelphia, the birthplace of American democracy, will be home to Vision 2020’s Women 100 programs and events, complemented by the work of Proud Partners — organizations committed to gender equality that have created their own programming in support of Women 100. Vision 2020 applauds Wyck Historic House, Garden, and Farm, one of its Women 100 Proud Partners, on the organization’s commitment to advancing women’s equality and looks forward to its 2020 program. For more information or to get involved in Vision 2020’s Women 100, visit drexel.edu/vision2020.