Twichell gave the Young People’s Federation credit for the idea during his sermon on March 16, 1902, and the federation does seem to have been prime movers for the project, in particular with fundraising for it. At the dedication ceremony on February 12, 1904, however, Charles E. Gross credited the Ladies’ Benevolent Society as the originators of the idea. Twichell followed Gross’s remarks by identifying three women in particular (Amelia Ray Clark, Hilah Kellogg, and Kate Stone Williams) as the source of the idea. He then added that the Young People’s Federation “took up the matter to a successful completion.”