Grace Garrett Durand (August 25, 1867 – February 26, 1948) was an American clubwoman, business owner, and temperance activist.
Grace Denise Garrett was born in Burlington, Iowa, the daughter of William Garrett and Martha Rorer Garrett. [1] She went to school at St. Mary's in Knoxville, Illinois. [2]
In 1904 Grace Durand began running a model dairy, Crab Tree Farm, in Lake Forest, Illinois, to sell good quality local milk to Chicagoans, [3] and to support her other projects, such as a kindergarten for children in Chicago's tenements. [4] The farm was relocated to Lake Bluff, Illinois in 1906. "I have not entirely given up society for my dairy," Durand explained, "but the work is so interesting that I cannot look upon the time and effort given to it as any sacrifice." [5] Several of the buildings on the farm were lost by fire in 1910. She rebuilt the barns with help from architect Solon Spencer Beman. [6] In 1915, her herd of Guernsey cows was destroyed by government officials because they were suspected of carrying foot and mouth disease. [7] [8] She sued for $100,000 in damages. [9] She lectured at farmers' institutes across the American midwest on her methods and experiences in dairy work, and patented a design for milk jugs. [10]
Grace Durand was the first woman elected to serve on the board of education in Lake Forest, Illinois. [1] She was a member of the Lake Forest Golf Club, [11] and president of the Lake Bluff chapter of the Women's Christian Temperance Union. She wrote a book, Consider, opposing the repeal of Prohibition. Her temperance work was much remarked upon when her husband was accused of participating in a "rum ring" and indicted in 1933. [12] [13]
Grace Garrett married wealthy sugar broker [14] Scott Sloan Durand in 1894. They adopted two children. [1] Their son Jackson G. "Jack" Durand was convicted of robbing the home of F. Edson White in 1926, and served a prison sentence. [15] [16] The Durands traveled around the world, even visiting Tristan da Cunha in 1935. [17] Grace died in 1948, aged 80 years.
She donated woven and embroidered shawls from India to the Art Institute of Chicago. [18] [19]
Crab Tree Farm remains a working farm near Lake Bluff today. [6]