American War Mothers of World War I at the Old Courthouse, Petersburg

Inspired by her son’s enlistment in the Army, Johnson County native, Alice Moore French, mobilized other women with children in the Armed Forces and founded the American War Mothers in 1917. The Indiana Chapter was first to organize. Interest soon spread to other states and the National Organization was later incorporated, with French as its first president. The organization aimed to aid the soldiers, aid the government in homefront activities, and aid families with children in the military