From: "John Barton" <jax760@...>
(jax760 at yahoo.com)

TIMELINE OF THE FIRST 25 A.A. GROUPS
By John B.
Big Book Study Group of South Orange, NJ

1. Ohio: Akron (July 4, 1935)
2. New York City (Fall of 1935)
3. Ohio: Cleveland  - Abby G. Group (May 11, 1939)
4. New Jersey: The New Jersey Group (May 14, 1939)
5. Connecticut: Greenwich Blythewood Sanitarium (June 16, 1939)
6. Illinois: Chicago (September 13, 1939)
7. Ohio: Cleveland Borton Group (November 16, 1939)
8. Ohio: Cleveland Orchard Grove (November 20, 1939)
9. Washington, D.C. (December 1939)
10. California: San Francisco (December 1939)
11. California: Los Angeles (December 19, 1939)
12. New York: Orangeberg - Rockland State Hospital (December 1939)
13. Michigan: Detroit (December 1939)
14. Pennsylvania: Philadelphia (February 13, 1940)
15. Texas: Houston  (March 15, 1940)
16. Arkansas: Little Rock (April 19, 1940)
17. Indiana: Evansville (April 23, 1940)
18. Ohio: Cleveland West 50th Street Group (May 8, 1940)
19. New Jersey: Camden (May 14, 1940)
20. Virginia: Richmond (June 6, 1940)
21. Maryland: Baltimore (June 16, 1940)
22. Ohio: Dayton (July 8, 1940)
23. Michigan: Coldwater (Summer 1940)
24. Ohio: Cleveland Berea (August 27, 1940)
25. Ohio: Cleveland Westlake (September 20, 1940)

History Documents:
January 1939 AABB The Original Manuscript
April 10, 1939 AABB 1st Edition
June 1953, 12 & 12 - AAWS
1955 AABB 2nd Edition
1957 AACOA AAWS
1980 DBGO AAWS
1984 PIO AAWS
1999 HIW Mitchell K.
GSO Archives

Notes related to the formation of the groups.

A.A. Group # 1 Akron, Ohio

"The spark that was to flare into the first A.A. group was struck at Akron, Ohio
in June 1935, during a talk between a New York stockbroker and an Akron
physician."
(AABB 2nd Edition, p.xv)

Hence the two men set to work almost frantically upon alcoholics arriving in the
ward of the Akron City Hospital. Their very first case, a desperate one,
recovered immediately and became A.A. number three." (AABB 2nd Edition, p.xvii)

This refers to Bill's and Dr. Bob's first visit to A.A. Number Three. See the
Pioneer Section. This resulted in A.A.'s first group, at Akron, Ohio, in 1935.
(AABB 2nd Edition p.156)

"Before our visit was over, Bill suddenly turned to his wife and said, "Go fetch
my clothes, dear. We're going to get up and get out of here." Bill D. walked out
of that hospital a free man never to drink again. A.A.'s Number One Group dates
from that very day." - Bill W.
(AAB 2nd Edition p.189)

"He came out of the hospital on the Fourth of July, 1935." (DBGO p.85)

Author’s Comments: If you read the Original Manuscript of the Book Alcoholics
Anonymous, it becomes abundantly clear in Chapter 11, "A Vision for You" that
the "Fellowship" of Alcoholics Anonymous was alive and growing in January of
1939.
"Then, in this eastern city there are informal meetings such as we have
described to you, where you may see thirty or forty, there are the same fast
friendships, there is the same helpfulness to one another as you find among our
western friends. There is a good bit of travel between East and West and we
foresee a great increase in this helpful interchange.
Some day we hope that every alcoholic who journeys will find a Fellowship of
Alcoholics Anonymous at his destination. To some extent this is already true."
(BBOM p.130)

The first 100, obviously considered themselves part of the A.A. fellowship
whether or not they were specifically calling their "informal meetings" A.A.,
OG, Drunk Squadrons, etc. We think any debates whether the eastern and western
cities mentioned are or are not the first "A.A." groups are pointless. Bill
Wilson and Bob Smith obviously considered their respective groups to be #’s 1 &
2 and that should set the standard by which we apply our analysis.

The anniversary date for Akron Group # 1 seems questionable. Bill however,
tagged it as the day that Bill Dotson was discharged from the hospital. DBGO
says this was July 4, 1935. Akron Intergroup advises that they go by the July
4th date.


A.A. Group # 2 Brooklyn, New York

A second small group promptly took shape at New York ... (AABB 2nd Edition,
p.xvii)

In the fall of 1935, Bill and Lois began to hold weekly meetings in their home
on Clinton Street. (PIO p.162)

"…At this juncture, the meeting -- the first meeting of the Manhattan Group,
which really took place in Brooklyn -- stopped, and it stopped for a very good
reason. That was that the landlord set Lois and me out into the street, and we
didn't even have money to move our stuff into storage. Even that and the moving
van -- that was done on the cuff. Well, it was then the spring of 1939.
Temporarily, the Manhattan Group moved to Jersey. It hadn't got to Manhattan
yet...

...Meanwhile, the Manhattan Group moved to Manhattan for the first time. The
folks over here started a meeting in Bert T.'s tailor shop. Good old Bert is the
guy who hocked his then-failing business to save the book Alcoholics Anonymous
in 1939. In the fall, he still had the shop, and we began to hold meetings
there. Little by little, things began to grow. We went from there to a room in
Steinway Hall, and we felt we were in very classic and good company that gave us
an aura of respectability. Finally, some of the boys -- notably Bert and Horace
-- said, "A.A. should have a home. We really ought to have a club." And so the
old 24th Street Club, which had belonged to the artists and illustrators and
before that was a barn going back to Revolutionary times, was taken over. I
think Bert and Horace signed the first lease."("The Road from the Table on
Clinton Street": Bill Wilson's Talk to the Manhattan Group, NYC, 1955)

Author’s Comments: This group was actually what this writer terms "The Bill &
Lois Wilson Road Show." After being evicted from 182 Clinton Street the New York
contingent met everywhere and anywhere over the next several months. Including
Montclair, NJ, South Orange, NJ, Green Pond in NJ, Flatbush in Brooklyn, Bert
Taylor’s Shop, Bert Taylor’s Loft, an apartment on West 72nd Street, Blythewood,
Steinway Hall, Rockland State Hospital, and finally the 24th Street Clubhouse.
(See PIO p.216-217) Based on Lois’s comments, Pass It On describes these as "At
least a dozen A.A. groups had evolved in the New York Metropolitan area..."
Unfortunately, this passage is misleading. We can see that this was actually a
dozen different meeting locations for the same group of 30 – 40 alcoholics. This
is clarified in Bill’s talk to the Manhattan Group in 1955. The previous
paragraph in Pass It On explains it better when it says: "When they lived at
Clinton Street, A.A. meetings had been held there. A.A. followed Bill and Lois
wherever they went."

The New Jersey "contingent" split off from the New York Group and remained in
New Jersey when the Montclair meeting ended in mid June of 39. The NY contingent
crossed the river back to Manhattan and the Jerseyites began meeting in South
Orange at the home of Herb Debevoise continuing what had been started in
Montclair.

A.A. Group # 3 Cleveland, Ohio

On May 11, 1939, one month after the book had been published, a meeting was
held. It was a meeting of "Alcoholics Anonymous." It was a meeting held by, and
for alcoholics and their families only. Historian, Mary C. Darrah, wrote:

"In the years 1935-1939, the Oxford meetings provided a group experience for
the early alcoholics. A.A. did not meet as a separate group officially named
Alcoholics Anonymous until May 1939 at the home of Abby G. in Cleveland."
(HIW p.141)

A.A. Group # 4 The New Jersey Group

Lois’s diary entry for May 14, 1939 indicates they went to the meeting at the
Parkhurst’s. (PIO p.217)

AACOA p.11, "We attended New Jersey’s first AA meeting, held in the summer of
1939, at the Upper Montclair home of Henry P..." (AACOA p.11)

A.A. Group # 5 Greenwich Connecticut

Marty pioneered a group in Greenwich so early in 1939 that some folks now think
this one should carry the rating of A.A.s Group Number Three. Backed by Dr.
Harry and Mrs. Wylie, owner of Blythewood, the first meetings were held on the
Sanitarium’s grounds.
(AACOA p.18-19)

In the summer of 1939 our New York member Marty had sponsored a prospect named
Nona.
(AACOA p.181)

"While Marty and Grenny were patients at Blythewood Sanitarium in Greenwich,
Connecticut, the two of them together with Bill persuaded Mrs. Wylie, the owner
to let them hold meetings there. (PIO p.216)

The first year was the hardest. I had plenty of prospects but few results. All
that long hot summer I went into New York once a week to the meeting, hoping a
woman might appear, find me, know that she was not alone and unique, and stay.
...Finally, in October, came Nona, whom I had met when I entered the sanitarium
nearly two years before. She came in wholeheartedly, a quiet girl not wanting to
be noticed, but she was there. Written by Marty Mann - (For Men Only? Anonymous
Grapevine – June 1960)

By way of friendly inquiry I have Lois referring to the first meeting at
Blythewood Sanitarium, in Greenwich, CT. as Friday, June 16, 1939 at which time
Marty was still a patient. (AA History Lovers # 2896, yahoo.com)

Author’s Comments: It is questionable whether or not this was actually a "group"
and not just a meeting. The date is questionable as well. Marty indicates in her
GV article that she was on the road attending meetings that long hot summer; not
exactly substantiating a group resident in Greenwich at the time. In AACOA Bill
calls this meeting "a group" so who are we to dispute that. This one may be
subject to further discussion.


A.A Group # 6 Chicago, Illinois

According to member list index cards kept by the Chicago group, Sylvia's date of
sobriety was September 13, 1939 (www.barefootsworld.net, Sylvia K.)
"He wrote to New York in September 1939 that the A.A.s in Chicago were
organizing a group and would have regular meetings." (DBGO p.181) Referring to a
letter written by Earl T.

A.A. Group # 7 Cleveland, Ohio - Borton

Group Number Two in Cleveland was called the Borton Group. This group met at the
home of T. E. Borton, a non-alcoholic friend of the A.A. fellowship. The meeting
was located at 2427 Roxboro Road in Cleveland. Its first meeting was held on
Thursday, November 16, 1939. (HIW p.150)

A.A. Group # 8 Cleveland, Ohio – Orchard Grove

Almost immediately thereafter, in another show of what Clarence sarcastically
called A.A. "unity," they split again on November 20th. Out of the Borton group
was born the Orchard Grove Group. The Orchard Group met on Monday nights at
15909 Detroit Avenue. The Orchard Group later changed its name to the Lakewood
Group. (HIW p.151-152)

A.A. Group # 9 Washington D.C.

At first he (Fitz) met with minimal success, but by the fall of 1939 the nucleus
of a small group had been established in Washington. He had been long a loner in
Washington, but Fitz was eventually joined by Hardin C. and Bill A.2 and was
also joined by Florence Rankin

Note 2. When Bill Wilson died in 1971, Donald E. Graham, now the publisher of
The Washington Post, but then a young man learning the family business from the
ground up, and working as a staff writer, interviewed me. Graham's story says in
part: "Bill A., an Arlington businessman, recalled that in December 1939, when
Alcoholics Anonymous was a small, little-known group, he went to New York to
meet Mr. Wilson. The next month Mr. Wilson helped start an AA chapter here, the
fourth in the country."

Sources:
"Alcoholics Anonymous", "Pass It On", "Bill W." by Francis Hartigan, "History of
AA in Maryland" from the website of the West Baltimore AA Group, private
communications from Lee C. Compiled by Nancy O.

Author’s Comments: Based on the comments of Bill A. this group would be December
of 1939. Arrival of Ned Foote. supports this. However, actual start of Group may
have been January of 1940. See PIO p.257 N2 Washington Intergroup History lists
date as October 28, 1939 but this is in variance with PIO. In lieu of
discrepancy we list this as the first group of December 1939.


A.A Group # 10 San Francisco, California

So it happened, that when an AA member from New York, Ray W., came to San
Francisco for a sales training course in November of that year he brought with
him a list of those who had made inquiries. Among them was Mrs. Oram’s boarder,
Ted.

From his room in the Clift Hotel on Geary Street, Ray called those on his list.
He finally arranged for some of them to meet with him in his room on Tuesday,
November 21, 1939.

It was there that the first meeting of Alcoholics Anonymous on the West Coast
was held. Aside from Ray and Ted, there were two others present, Don B. and Dave
L. and the meeting lasted about two hours.

As Ray mentioned, it had become clear that they would need to form an AA group
in San Francisco, where they all could meet regularly. Mrs. Oram offered her
kitchen as a meeting place. So shortly before Christmas, 1939, the first AA
group, the "San Francisco Group" began meeting in Mrs. Oram’s kitchen, and later
in various members’ homes. In October of 1940 they found a more or less
permanent site for their meetings in the Telegraph Hill Community House at 1736
Stockton Street in North Beach. (www.aasf.org)

AA’s First Meeting on the West Coast
(Adapted from C.N.C.A History, prepared by the CNCA Archives Committee,
September 1984)

Authors note: Ray W. is Ray Wood from the New Jersey Group of A.A.

A.A. Group # 11 Los Angeles, California

She and Chuck came to Los Angeles just in time to attend the first so-called
"home" meetings. This particular gathering was held at Kaye’s place on Benecia
Avenue on December 19, 1939. It included Kaye and Johnny, Lee and Chuck and a
number of prospects. (ACOAA p.92)

A.A. Group # 12 Rockland State Hospital, NY

First A.A. Group in mental institution, Rockland State Hospital, NY (AACOA
p.viii)

A.A. Group # 13 Detroit, Michigan

Archie T. went to Akron and spent ten and one-half months living with Dr. Bob S.
and his wife. He says he got his AA direct from one of the founders. Archie read
Emmet Fox's Sermon on the Mount, and he said it changed his life.

In December, 1939, the first meeting of AA in Michigan was held in Arch T.'s
room on Merrick Avenue in the Art Center in Detroit. Present, besides Archie,
were Mike E., who became member #2 in Michigan, another alcoholic, and Sara
Klein, a non-alcoholic.

(Copyright© 1999-2006 Alcoholics Anonymous General Services of Southeast
Michigan)
http://www.aa-semi.org/
A.A. Group # 14 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

On February 13, 1940, with about two years of sobriety, Jim and Rosa moved to
the Philadelphia area and started a group there.
(www.barefootsworld.net/aaburwell.html)

A.A. Group # 15 Houston, Texas

The first Houston A.A. meeting was held March 15, 1940, in a room in the YWCA
Bldg. The group continued to meet on Tuesdays with as many as 25 attending --
but often a different 25 each time! Ed H. and Roy Y. tried to educate ministers
and doctors without much success until they were referred to Dr. David Wade at
Galveston State Hospital. Dr. Wade was to remain a good friend of A.A. (Bob P.
Unpublished AA History Manuscript)

A.A Group # 16 Little Rock, Arkansas

The first meeting of the three men - Sterling C, Harlan N, and Bud G - as an AA
group was in late May 1940 in the insurance agency office in the Wallace Bldg,
Markham and Main Streets. The group ran ads in the newspaper as they continued
to meet, and began to grow. (Bob P. Unpublished AA History Manuscript)

A.A. Group # 17 Evansville, Indiana

J. D. Holmes and the First A.A. Group in Indiana: Evansville, April 23, 1940"
The man who started A.A. in Indiana was a man named James D. "J. D." Holmes. He
was one of the original Akron A.A. group. He got sober in September 1936: if we
count Bill W. and Dr. Bob as numbers one and two, J. D. was A.A. number ten. On
May 30, 1938, he and his wife Rhoda moved to Evansville, Indiana, which is in
the extreme southwestern part of the state, on the banks of the Ohio River. He
was unable to get any other alcoholics in Evansville to join him until the Big
Book was published in 1939. Dr. Bob sent him a copy of the Big Book the minute
it came off the press, and with this new aid, he was able to reach out to a
local surgeon, Dr. Joe Welborn, after Dr. Joe's drinking finally landed him in
the county jail in April of 1940. Dr. Joe brought in other alcoholics who were
patients of his, and the first A.A. group in Indiana met on Tuesday evening,
April 23, 1940, in J. D. and Rhoda's home at 420 S. Denby St. in Evansville.
(http://hindsfoot.org/nfirst.html)

A.A. Group # 18 Cleveland, Ohio - West 50th Street

On May 1, 1940 the West 50th Street Group broke away from the Orchard Grove
Group taking four members with them. The West 50th Street Group had their first
meeting on May 8th. By the end of its first year, that group had eighty-seven
members. They met at 3241 West 50th Street on Wednesday evenings. Its name was
later changed to the Brooklyn Group. (HIW p.169)

A.A. Group # 19 Camden, New Jersey

"Thanks so much for your letter of the 11th regarding Camden A.A. meetings to
begin Tuesday the 14th. We are more than glad to send along 30 of the A.A.
pamphlets to give you a start at Camden. They were mailed this morning - hope
you have them in time for first meeting.
. . . In the event we receive inquiries for assistance in the South Jersey area,
Alcoholics Anonymous speaking, may we take the liberty of refering them directly
to you? Best regards to you all from the New York and Northern New Jersey
Fellowships." (GSO Archives Letter from Ruth Hock 5/13/1940 to J.R.Tucker)

A.A. Group # 20 Richmond, Virginia

In the spring of 1940, Ted C from Richmond, Virginia, was undergoing treatment
at Rockland State Hospital in New York -"the first [hospital in the East) to
enter into full scale cooperation with AA" So the New York office of AA,
learning that Ted C was returning to Richmond with a new business connection,
asked him to serve as the AA contact there. One of the first referrals was
McChee B, who was helped by Ted. The two men now hoped to start a group. The
first AA meeting in Virginia was held June 6, 1940 at McChee’s apartment with 12
present. However, as Bill W later recalled, they "believed in getting away from
their wives and drinking only beer." It didn’t work, and the group fell apart
almost immediately. (Bob P.AA History Manuscript)

Authors Comments: This group disbanded and re-started the following year. We
carry this group here because it was listed in A.A. Bulletin # 1, 11/14/1940, as
an active location.
A.A Group # 21 Baltimore Maryland

Jimmy (Burwell) was also responsible, later, for the start of A.A. in Baltimore.
The second Baltimore meeting, held in June of 1940, was attended by six people;
(PIO 258N)

On June 16, 1940, the two Jims met with three other men at Ridgely's home on St.
Paul Street. Several days later, Burwell received a letter in Philadelphia from
a Baltimore lawyer who wanted to help his alcoholic brother and offered his
office in the Munsey Building on Fayette Street as a meeting place. On June 22,
1940, the six men held the second Baltimore AA meeting in that office. (Nancy
Olson- History of AA in Maryland)

A.A. Group #22 Dayton, Ohio

Authors Comments: See note for Group # 26. Trying to substantiate this date for
Dayton.

A.A. Group #23 Coldwater, Michigan

...it appears that that there was AA activity in Coldwater, Michigan prior to
October 1940, which is alluded to in a letter dated May 7, 1941. The letter is
addressed to Mr. Walter P. and reads, in part: "I met a few of the Coldwater
group last summer on my trip through Michigan and I particularly remember Bill
F. who still writes quite often and always interestingly. I notice that
Hillsdale is close enough to Coldwater to make it feasible for you to attend
meetings there if you so desire." (1941 Letter from Ruth Hock to Walter P.)

A.A. Group # 24 Cleveland, Ohio – Berea Group

On August 27th, the Berea Group formed and met at the home of Bob J. It had nine
members and at the end of its first year, had grown to thirty members. On
September 3rd, the group moved from the home of Bob J. to St. Thomas Episcopal
Church Parish Hall in Berea. (HIW p.170)

A.A. Group # 25 Cleveland, Ohio – Westlake Group

On September 20th the Westlake Group branched off from the Orchard Grove Group
and began meeting at the Hotel Westlake. When the Westlake Group left Orchard
Grove, it took thirty members with it. The group later became the Lake Shore
Group. (HIW p.170)

Notes on Groups not listed above but included in the November 14, 1940 AA
Bulletin

Toledo and Younstown tie for # 26.

Duke never did pick up another drink. A few months later, in September of 1940,
he and the other Toledo members started their own group. (DBGO p.254)

By September of 1940, Cleveland was reporting to Bill in New York that, in
addition to its own six meetings and 400 – 500 members, Ohio had meetings in
Akron, Toledo, Youngstown, Dayton, Raveena, Wooster, and Canton. (DBGO p.262)

Authors Comments: "Meetings" do not constitute "groups". We include Youngstown
and Toledo as # 26 but not Raveena, Wooster and Canton in accordance with
"Groups" listed in A.A. Bulletin # 1 November 14, 1940.

Jackson, Michigan – Group start date unsubstantiated and group disbanded.

We had lots of fine members whom I remember with great affection. I have good
memories of Bernie W., Roy D., Butch and Jake (a she) C., Silvanus J., Bill H.,
Charlie S., Ruth W., Frank Mc., Beck U., and many others whose names don't come
up on my screen at the moment, although I could remember them with a bit of
jogging. We called ourselves Jackson Group #2, although there was not a #1 in an
active state. However, there was a group registered in the national AA directory
with Stan S. as a contact, but I never knew him and as far as I knew, it wasn't
meeting. I would be happy to review any records you have, but I do think you can
use December, 1939, as the starting time for AA in Jackson. It may have taken
some time to really get off the ground, but I think we have to call Al C., the
founder with later backup from Jack D.I hope this is of some help to you. Please
call if you have more questions and I'll try to help. All the best, Mel B.

Then we heard from Tom B.:
Bud S. the electrician told me that Jackson Group #1 folded after they lost
their meeting place when their landlord padlocked the hall. The present Jackson
Group, official registered in New York as Jackson Group #2, held its first
meeting on the first Sunday of September 1945. Where the meeting was held has
been forgotten but the date was confirmed by a copy of the minutes of business
meetings from 1950, 1951 and 1952 that I got from Bud C. whose late
brother-in-law had been group secretary in those years. Barb S. borrowed the
notebooks to read over, and lost them all in moving to Texas and then back to
Jackson. Tom says that Bud S. also told him that Al C. had a coffee shop in the
Otsego Hotel in the early 40's. One night each week, Al closed early so that AA
could meet in the coffee shop.

Copyright© 2006 The Jackson Group
http://www.aa-semi.org/

Waunakee Wisconsin – Local A.A. activity, but members attending meetings in
Chicago.

After an exhaustive search, I found no groups listed in Waunakee, Wisconsin
prior to October 1, 1940, however there was indeed mention of AA activity in
Waunakee, during this period. Early correspondence reveals that Harry S., of
Waunakee, WI, may have been the first individual to contact GSO from this city.
Harry’s earliest letter dates November 20, 1939 and reads, "I thank you for your
letter of the 14th I would be pleased to correspond with your Chicago membership
and perhaps would go there to see more of it."

In a letter dating July 24, 1940, Harry writes:

"My position as Chief Chef for the Mendota State Hospital, Mendota, Wisconsin,
(a suburb of Madison Wisconsin) brings me in close contact with all types of
alcoholics. A good many of these are more than anxious to stop drinking and are
well worth saving, as a matter of fact, I have talked to a number of them and
have outlined your procedure...I have had some correspondence with your Miss
Coultis of Chicago who has very kindly invited me to attend some of their
meetings there...I am eager to start a group in Madison and would so much
appreciate any information you might give me which would enable to do so."

There are few more letters from Harry in the file. Please note that letters from
Harry are all filed with other group correspondence in the "Madison" folder.
(Asst. GSO Archivist Michelle M.)