The Stanley Bridge Women's Institute was organized by a group of women from Stanley Bridge and Hope River School Districts on 19 June 1913 at the Stanley Bridge Hall, Prince Edward Island. The name was changed in November of the same year to Sterling Women's Institute "to reflect the superior quality or excellence of this great organization". Early years were devoted to the education and well-being of the children in the community resulting in the support of the local school and of various agricultural activities. The war years saw much Institute involvement in Red Cross activities and in the support of the provincial sanatorium. With the closure of the one-room schools and the changing demography of rural PEI, the activities of the Institute took a new turn and from 1961 to the present day it has also been involved in the acquisition and renovation of various pieces of historic real estate for the community such as the "Swimming Rock" area, the school, and the Stanley Bridge Women's Institute Hall.