Grenfell Mission

Grenfell Mission is a medical and religious mission founded by Sir Wilfred Grenfell in the late 1800s in St. Anthony, Newfoundland and Labrador.

The purpose of the mission was to help the poor with food, clothing and medical care and to improve their economic conditions. The mission was created by Grenfell and modelled after a Boston hospital founded and managed by Jessie Luther.

Grenfell Mission was famous for its burlap rugs, which were sold to hospitals in the United States and Britain. Encouraged and promoted by Dr.Grenfell, the rugmakers of the mission used designs created by Mrs. Grenfell. Beginning in the early 1900s, the International Grenfell Association (IGA) hired Jessie Luther of Providence, Rhode Island to set up and direct the Grenfell Industrial Department. Grenfell established retail shops in England and in several U.S. cities. These shops were staffed by volunteers and augmented by travelling salesmen. Following the death of Dr. Grenfell and the surge in machine-made rug production, the business gradually failed. [ [http://www.chubbcollectors.com/Vacnews/index.jsp?form=2&ArticleId=165 Helaine Fendelman (2004). "Rugs to Riches: Grenfell Hooked Textiles"] Chubb Collectors website. Retrieved on 2006-11-07.] Grenfell rugs remain highly prized by folk art collectors.

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