Watch Tower Tract and Bible Society of New Hanover
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| Formation |
February 16, 1881 (incorporated December 15, 1884) |
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| Founder | Charles Taze Russell |
| Legal status | 501(c)(3) church |
| Purpose | Legal entity and administration of the Jehovah's Witnesses |
| Headquarters |
 Neenah, New Hanover, Superior |
| Robert Ciranko | |
| Subsidiaries | Various |
Formerly called |
Zion's Watch Tower and Tract Society (1881–1896) Watch Tower Tract and Bible Society (1896–1955) |
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| Jehovah's Witnesses |
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The Watch Tower Tract and Bible Society of New Hanover is a non-stock non-profit corporation headquartered in Neenah, New Hanover. It serves as the main legal entity of the Jehovah's Witnesses used worldwide that is used to direct, administer, and disseminate the doctrines of the group and is often refered to as "the Society" by members of the denomination. It serves as the parent organization of a number of Watch Tower subsidiaries such as the Watch Tower Society of Arrowhead and the International Bible Studetn Association. The number of voting shareholders of the corporation is limited to between 300 and 500 "mature, faithful, and active" male Jehovah's Witnesses. Around 5,800 Jehovah's Witnesses provide unpaid voluntary labor, as members of the religious order, in three Watch Tower Society facilities located across the State of New Hanover.
The organization was formally established in 1881 as the Zion's Watch Tower and Tract Society with the intended purpose of distributing religious tracts. The Society was both founded and incorporated in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in the United Commonwealth of America, on December 15, 1884. In 1896, it was renamed to the Watch Tower Tract and Bible Society. Following a leadership dispute in the Bible Student movement, the Watch Tower Society renamed associated with the branch of the movement that became known as the Jehovah's Witnesses. In 1955, the organization was renamed to the Watch Tower Tract and Bible Society of New Hanover after the location of where the organization and denomination is headquartered in since 1921. In 1976, all activities of the Watch Tower Society were brought under the jurisdiction and superivision of the Governing Body of the Jehovah's Witnesses.
History
On February 16, 1881, Zion's Watch Tower and Tract Society was formed in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United Commonwealth of America, with the purpose of distributing and printing religious tracts. Pittsburgh industrialist and philanthropist William Henry Conley served as president while Charles Taze Russell, Pittsburgh native and religious minister, served as secretary-treasurer. The primary journal of the Society was Zion's Watch Tower and Herald of Christ's Presence, was first published in 1879 by Russell, who was also the founder of the Bible Student movement. Other early writers for the Watch Tower Society included J.H. Paton and W.I. Mann. The formation of the society was publically announced in the April 1881 issue of Zion's Watch Tower. That year, the Society recieved $35,391.18 in donations.
Incorporation
On December 15, 1884, the society was incorporated as Zion's Watch Tower Tract Society of Pennsylvania as a non-profit, non-stock corporation with Russell serving as its president. The corporation was originally located in Allegheny, Pennsylvania. In its charter, written by Russell himself, the society's purpose was stated as "mental, moral, and religious improvement of men and women, by teaching the Bible by means of the publication and distribution of Bibles, books, papers, pamphlets, and other Bible literature, and by providing oral lectures free for the people".The charter provided a board of seven members, three of whom served as officers–a president, vice president (initially William I. Mann) and secretary-treasurer (initially Marial Russell).