Charlotte Woman's Club

Last updated

The Charlotte Woman's Club (CWC) is the oldest civic organization in Charlotte, North Carolina. [1] Charlotte Woman's club was and still is very active in the community. They established the first kindergarten in the city. During both world wars, they staffed city buses and the Southern Railway station with volunteers. [1] They were also involved with organizing the YWCA, PTA and Traveler's Aid in Charlotte. They also brought the first public health nurses to Charlotte and helped create the League of Women Voters. The CWC also supported the creation of the Mint Museum of Art and the Domestic Relations Court. [2] [3]

Contents

History

It was organized by six women in April 1899 as the Charlotte Mothers' Club. [4] In 1901, twenty-five more women joined and the group was officially renamed to the Charlotte Woman's Club (CWC) with Mrs. F.C. Abbot as the first president. [4] The club became part of the North Carolina Federation of Women's Clubs (NCFWC) in 1903. The CWC would send delegates to the annual conference for the NCFWC. [5] [6] Later, they joined the General Federation of Women's Clubs (GFWC) in 1908. The club also sent delegates, sometimes to conventions as far away as California. [7] The Charlotte Club was incorporated in 1920.

By 1905 the club had 86 members and was holding meetings twice a month. By the 1920s the club's 500 members meant the club had to find a new meeting place, so the club made plans to purchase property and build a place where they could meet. [8] Prior to purchasing their own place, they met at the Charlotte Mint. [9] The CWC clubhouse stands on 1001 East Morehead Street and was designed by architect, Charles C. Hook. [10] The women received the deed in 1923. [2] It was dedicated a historic landmark in 1978 and was sold in 2008. [2]

The club has been involved with charitable and public service work since its early days. In 1900, members of the group sent care packages to United States soldiers in the Philippine Insurrection. [11] The CWC advocated for public children's playgrounds as early as 1910. [12] They were also involved in citywide cleanup and beautification projects. [13] Members of the group have been involved in education. The CWC wanted the city of Charlotte to take the lead in public education. [14] CWC created the first kindergarten in Charlotte. [1]

When the NCFWC was requesting in 1910 that individual clubs vote on whether or not they wanted to address the issue of women's suffrage, the CWC voted against it. [15]

The club, while it was initially a mainly white-only organization, helped set up nursing clinics by the 1920s where both African American and European American nurses worked and were paid in part by the CWC. [16] They had also advocated for integrated efforts to aid World War I programs. [16] During both World War I and World War II, CWC staffed buses and train stations. [1]

Related Research Articles

Charlotte, North Carolina Largest city in North Carolina

Charlotte is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 as of the 2020 census, making it the 16th-most populous city in the U.S. and the second-largest in the Southeast behind Jacksonville, Florida. The city is the cultural, economic, and transportation center of the Charlotte metropolitan area, whose population ranks 23rd in the U.S., and had a population of 2,660,329, in 2020. The Charlotte metropolitan area is part of a sixteen-county market region or combined statistical area with a 2020 census-estimated population of 2,846,550.

Plaza-Midwood (Charlotte neighborhood) Neighborhood in Mecklenburg, North Carolina, United States

Plaza-Midwood is a neighborhood located approximately one mile to the northeast of Uptown in Charlotte, North Carolina. The neighborhood is roughly bound by Hawthorne Lane to the west, The Plaza to the north, Briar Creek Road and the Charlotte Country Club to the east and Central Avenue to the south.

The Piedmont & Northern Railway was a heavy electric interurban company operating over two disconnected divisions in North and South Carolina. Tracks spanned 128 miles (206 km) total between the two segments, with the northern division running 24 miles (39 km) from Charlotte, to Gastonia, North Carolina, including a three-mile (5 km) spur to Belmont. The southern division main line ran 89 miles (143 km) from Greenwood to Spartanburg, South Carolina, with a 12 mi (19 km) spur to Anderson. Initially the railroad was electrified at 1500 volts DC, however, much of the electrification was abandoned when dieselisation was completed in 1954.

The Mint Museum, also referred to as The Mint Museums, is a cultural institution comprising two museums, located in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Mint Museum Randolph and Mint Museum Uptown, together these two locations have hundreds of collections showcasing art and design from around the globe.

Frank R. McNinch

Frank Ramsay McNinch was born in Charlotte, North Carolina. He was a political figure who served as the mayor of Charlotte, as chairman of the Federal Power Commission, and as chairman of the Federal Communications Commission. In the 1928 presidential election, McNinch, a Democrat, supported Republican Herbert Hoover for president. After he was elected, Hoover appointed McNinch to a seat on the Federal Power Commission, leading to a split in the North Carolina Democratic Party that damaged the political fortunes of new U.S. Sen. Cameron Morrison, a friend of McNinch. He was later appointed FPC chairman by Franklin D. Roosevelt.

The Carolina Geographic Rugby Union is the Local Area Union (LAU) for rugby union teams playing in North Carolina and South Carolina. Youth rugby in North Carolina is governed by the North Carolina State Rugby Organization of USARugby, the North Carolina Youth Rugby Union.

Inquisition v. City of Charlotte was a landmark First Amendment Supreme Court decision.

Charles Christian Hook (1870–1938) was an American architect. He was also the founder of FreemanWhite, Inc. a Haskell Company (1892), the oldest practicing firm in North Carolina and currently the 11th oldest architecture firm in the United States.

Charlotte Independence American professional soccer team in Charlotte, North Carolina

Charlotte Independence is an American soccer team based in Charlotte, North Carolina that plays in the USL Championship, the second tier of the American soccer pyramid.

Cornelia Petty Jerman

Cornelia Petty Jerman was an American suffragist and Democratic Party official, based in North Carolina.

Sarah Visanska

Sarah Visanska was an American clubwoman, president of the South Carolina Federation of Women's Clubs from 1910 to 1912.

Frederick Douglas Alexander was an American businessman, civil rights activist, and politician from Charlotte, North Carolina. Elected to the Charlotte City Council in 1965, he was the first African American to serve on it since the 1890s. He was repeatedly re-elected, serving until 1974. That year he was elected to the State Senate, serving into 1980. He was also active in local business, community and civil rights organizations, establishing a reputation as a moderate.

Kelly Alexander Sr.

Kelly Miller Alexander Sr. was Chairman of the Board of Directors of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and a civil rights activist. He was born in Charlotte, North Carolina to Zechariah and Louise Alexander. His father was the owner of the Alexander Funeral Home, the only black funeral home in Charlotte. He played football at Second Ward High School, becoming known as "Ship-wreck Kelly." Alexander studied at the Tuskegee Institute in Alabama and Renouard College of Embalming in New York City before returning to Charlotte to help run his father's business.

Mary Norton Kratt is an American author. She focuses on southern history.

Swank Social Club began as a social club for a group of students from Second Ward High School in Charlotte, North Carolina. The club has since evolved into a social oriented organization and is now Charlotte's oldest African American social club.

Thereasea Delerine "T. D." Elder was the first African American public health nurse in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Iowa Federation of Colored Womens Clubs United States historic place

The Iowa Federation of Colored Women's Clubs (IFCWC) was an umbrella organization serving African-American women's clubs in Iowa. The motto of IFCWC was "Sowing Seeds of Kindness", and the organization was affiliated with the National Association of Colored Women. The club produced a journal called the Iowa Colored Woman. IFCWC sent delegates to represent the state at national conventions and opportunities such as "Colored Women's day" at the 1939 New York World's Fair. The IFCWC is also known for creating a black women's dormitory for the University of Iowa before the school was fully integrated. The building has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

The Kentucky Federation of Women's Clubs (KFWC) is a community and civic umbrella organization for women in Kentucky. It was founded in 1894 and is affiliated with the General Federation of Women's Clubs (GFWC). The KFWC helped bring about various reforms in Kentucky and expanded educational opportunities to citizens.

Charlotte FC Planned Major League Soccer team in Charlotte, North Carolina, U.S.

Charlotte Football Club is a planned Major League Soccer expansion team expected to begin play in 2022. The club will play at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina. The team is owned by David Tepper, who was awarded the expansion franchise on December 17, 2019.

References

Citations

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Charlotte Woman's Club Records". J. Murrey Atkins Library. UNC Charlotte. September 1992. Retrieved 2017-07-20.
  2. 1 2 3 "The Clubhouse Of The Charlotte Woman's Club". Charlotte-Mecklenburg Historic Landmarks Commission. Retrieved 2016-11-29.
  3. ↑ "Charlotte Woman's Club". www.charlottewomansclub.org. Retrieved 2016-11-29.
  4. 1 2 Morrill, Dan L. (2001). Historic Charlotte County: An Illustrated History of Charlotte & Mecklenburg County. San Antonio, Texas: Historical Publishing Network. p. 50. ISBN   1893619206.
  5. ↑ "Delegates to Women's Clubs". The Charlotte News. 18 April 1907. Retrieved 19 July 2017– via Newspapers.com.
  6. ↑ "Federation of Woman's Clubs". The Charlotte News. 27 April 1908. Retrieved 19 July 2017– via Newspapers.com.
  7. ↑ "Club Women Will Go to California". The Charlotte News. 19 May 1912. Retrieved 19 July 2017– via Newspapers.com.
  8. ↑ "Club House Committee Has Encouraging Report". The Charlotte Observer. 6 October 1920. Retrieved 20 July 2017– via Newspapers.com.
  9. ↑ O'Fallon, Timothy (2016-01-25). "US Mint History - The Story of the Charlotte Mint". CoinWeek. Retrieved 2017-07-20.
  10. ↑ "Making History: Charlotte Woman's Club". Mecklenburg Neighbors. 30 August 1989. Retrieved 20 July 2017– via Charlotte-Mecklenburg Historic Landmarks Commission.
  11. ↑ "Soldiers Remembered by Charlotte Ladies". Detroit Free Press. 16 January 1900. Retrieved 19 July 2017– via Newspapers.com.
  12. ↑ "Public Playgrounds as Social Factor". The Charlotte News. 5 May 1910. Retrieved 19 July 2017– via Newspapers.com.
  13. ↑ "3,200 Pledges to Cleanup Already". The Evening Chronicle. 6 April 1912. Retrieved 19 July 2017– via Newspapers.com.
  14. ↑ "The School Board Don't Owe a Dollar". The Charlotte News. 10 May 1905. Retrieved 19 July 2017– via Newspapers.com.
  15. ↑ "Woman Suffrage is Voted Down 30 to 18 by a Charlotte Club". Detroit Free Press. 9 May 1910. Retrieved 19 July 2017– via Newspapers.com.
  16. 1 2 Gilmore 1996.

Sources

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.