,
Boscobel, Wisconsin, kept in the style it was in 1898 when the founders of the Gideons met there The organization began in the fall of 1898, when two traveling salesmen, John H. Nicholson of
Janesville, Wisconsin, and Samuel E. Hill of
Beloit, Wisconsin, met in a hotel room they shared at the
Central House Hotel in
Boscobel, Wisconsin, and discussed the formation of an association. In May 1899, the two met again in
Beaver Dam, Wisconsin, where they decided the goal of their association would be to unite traveling salesmen for evangelism. Gideons began distributing free Bibles, the work they are most known for, in 1908, when the first Bibles were placed in the rooms of the Superior Hotel in
Superior, Montana. The organization describes its connection to the story of
Gideon: "Gideon was a man who was willing to do exactly what God wanted him to do, regardless of his own judgment as to the plans or results. Humility, faith, and obedience were his great elements of character. This is the standard that The Gideons International is trying to establish in all its members, each man to be ready to do God's will at any time, at any place, and in any way that the Holy Spirit leads." In keeping with this symbolism, the symbol of the Gideons is a two-handled pitcher and torch recalling Gideon's victory over the
Midianites as described in
Judges 7. ==Membership==