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INTRODUCTION At the 1963 Spring meeting of the Board of Directors of the Federated Women's Institutes of Ontario a committee was appointed to bring up to date the book "Fifty Years of Achievement." The committee found themselves confronted with a task that was to inVOIVe them in hours of interesting research, a test of writing skills and many meetings. Each committee member was assigned a section to research and write. The committee as a whole spent many days editing the material. The aim Of the committee was to produce a complete and accurate history of the Women's Institute as an organization, from its begin- ning in I897 to the celebration of the seventy-fifth anniversary in 1972. Old records of the Farmers' Institutes and minutes of early meetings have been checked and rechecked. In some cases Branches, Districts and Areas have been contacted and asked to check their early minute books and Tweedsmuir Histories. Material based on information found in "Fifty Years of Achievement" and in "Forty Years Agrowing" has been incorporated. The committee hopes that it has left no stone unturned in its attempts to authenticate facts and dates. The committee wishes to express its gratitude to Miss Helen McKercher, Director of the Home Economics Branch, Ontario De- partment of Agriculture and Food, Who has been so generous in allowing us to use the facilities of the Home Economics Branch; to Miss Jean Scott, Supervisor of Junior Extension with the Home Eco- nomics Branch; to Mrs. Helen Armstrong, FWIO office secretary; to Mr. Sidney Harvey for his assistance in researching material;- to other staff members of the Home Economics Branch for their cooperation; and the committee has been fortunate to work with four Presidents of the Federated Women's Institutes of Ontario:- Mrs. L. G. Lymburner, Mrs. Leonard Trivers, Mrs. Everett Small and Mrs. Austin Zo'eller, all of whom have sat on the committee during their terms of office and vii