The National Association of Colored Women's Clubs (NACWC) is an American organization that was formed in July 1896 at the First Annual Convention of the National Federation of Afro-American Women in Washington, D.C., United States, by a merger of the National Federation of Afro-American Women, the Woman's Era Club of Boston, and the Colored Women's League of Washington, DC, at the call of Josephine St. Pierre Ruffin. From 1896 to 1904 it was known as the National Association of Colored Women (NACW). It adopted the motto "Lifting as we climb", to demonstrate to "an ignorant and suspicious world that our aims and interests are identical with those of all good aspiring women." When incorporated in 1904, NACW became known as the National Association of Colored Women's Clubs (NACWC).
The Sarasota Woman's Club is a historic woman's club in Sarasota, Florida. It is located at 1241 North Palm Avenue. It was founded in 1913 and on January 18, 1985, it was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places. The clubhouse is now home to the Keating Theater, the mainstage of Florida Studio Theatre.
The Katy Hamman-Stricker Library is located at 404 E. Mitchell Street in Calvert, Texas, USA. It consists of a museum as well as a public library and community center and was the first chapter house built by the American Woman's League in the state. Calvert is located within the Golden Triangle of Texas. The building was constructed in 1909 but its role changed thirty years later when it became the town library. It is designated as a Recorded Texas Historic Landmark.
The Friday Morning Club building is located in Downtown Los Angeles, California. It was the second home of the women's club also named the Friday Morning Club (FMC), for 61 years.
The Aftermath Clubhouse is a two-story, wood-frame Italian Villa building which was originally constructed in 1904. It is estimated to be the first women's clubhouse in the state of Washington.
The College Club of Boston is a private membership organization founded in 1890 as the first women's college club in the United States. Located in the historic Back Bay of Boston, Massachusetts, at 44 Commonwealth Avenue, the College Club was established by nineteen college educated women whose mission was to form a social club where they and other like-minded women could meet and share companionship.
The Coco Plum Woman's Club is a historic women's club located at 1375 Sunset Drive in Coral Gables, Florida. The club was founded in 1912 with eight members; it was named for the local cocoplum fruit. While the club was originally based in one of its members' houses, it built its own clubhouse in 1913. Its historic Mediterranean Revival clubhouse was built in 1926. The club participated in homefront efforts during both World Wars; its work with the American Red Cross during World War II was well-regarded within Florida. During peacetime, the club has served as a community library, a social venue for meetings and dances, a clinic, and a pre-school.
The Wauwatosa Woman's Club Clubhouse is located in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1998.
The Silver City Woman's Club is a historic women's club located at 411 Silver Heights Boulevard in Silver City, New Mexico. The club was founded in 1909, and it built its meeting house in 1935–36. Richard Tatsch designed the clubhouse in the Pueblo Revival style, which reflected the region's architectural history. The clubhouse provided two spaces for the club's community activities and private meetings; the former included distributing food to needy families and conducting child welfare inspections on behalf of the state, while the latter included self-improvement courses in music and literature. The women's club has continuously held its activities in the building since its construction; it has also provided a space for community meetings and large events.
The Woman's Club of El Paso was founded in the late nineteenth century, and during that time was the only woman's organization in El Paso, Texas. The Woman's Club also allowed women in El Paso to become involved in community service and activism. The building which is the home for the club is located on 1400 N. Mesa Drive, and was erected in 1916. The club, now a non-profit organization, traces its official origins back to 1894, and continues to provide an "educational and cultural center for its members." The building is registered in the National Register of Historic Places.
Indiana State Federation of Colored Women's Clubs, also known as the Minor House, is a historic National Association of Colored Women's Clubs clubhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana. The two-and-one-half-story "T"-plan building was originally constructed in 1897 as a private dwelling for John and Sarah Minor; however, since 1927 it has served as the headquarters of the Indiana State Federation of Colored Women's Clubs, a nonprofit group of African American women. The Indiana federation was formally organized on April 27, 1904, in Indianapolis and incorporated in 1927. The group's Colonial Revival style frame building sits on a brick foundation and has a gable roof with hipped dormers. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1987.
The Woman's Club of Evanston is a historic house in Evanston, Illinois and is the headquarters for the social club of the same name. It is located at 1702 Chicago Avenue. On November 9, 2006, the clubhouse was added to the National Register of Historic Places.
The Charlotte Woman's Club (CWC) is the oldest civic organization in Charlotte, North Carolina. 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. 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.
The woman's club movement was a social movement that took place throughout the United States that established the idea that women had a moral duty and responsibility to transform public policy. While women's organizations had existed earlier, it was not until the Progressive era (1896–1917) that they came to be considered a movement. The first wave of the club movement during the progressive era was started by white, middle-class, Protestant women, and a second phase was led by African-American women.
The Glendale Woman's Club was first organized in 1901 as a “Self Culture Club”, the primary aim of the Woman’s Club was self-improvement from a literary standpoint. They raised money for the first library and city parks. In 1898 the lumber company moved to a new two-story office building; Mr. Messenger could no longer manage the library. A library association was formed. The women’s club bought up stock and then assigned members to vote. Mrs. May Catlin Hanson, through club member Mrs. Lafe Myers, donated a building which was placed in park to house the library until a new one could be built. Mrs. Robert Clark and Mrs. J.M. (Mary) Pearson took the lead. Mary took a class on “Library work” in Phoenix to be able to “start it out right.”. By 1907, membership had increased to fifty members and it became impossible to continue meeting in homes, so the group began to think of acquiring its own clubhouse. On February 21, 1912, exactly 1 week after Arizona became the 48th state, the Club was recognized 501c3 non profit corporation with 85 members. The Glendale Woman's Club is a member of the General Federation of Women's Clubs.
The Woman's Club of Olympia was founded in Olympia, Washington, United States, in 1883. It is one of the oldest woman's club on the West Coast. Founding members included Mehitable Elder, Pamela Case Hale, Mary Hartsock, Janet Moore, Phebe Moore, Mary Shelton, Ella Stork, Abbie Howard Hunt Stuart, and Sarah E. Whitney. Its first president, Mrs. A.H.H. Stewart, a college graduate and a veteran of the Women's Club in Boston, was a "driving force" in the club's organization and was known as the "Mother of Women's Clubs" for having founded other clubs, too.
Women's suffrage was granted in Virginia in 1920, with the ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. The General Assembly, Virginia's governing legislative body, did not ratify the Nineteenth Amendment until 1952. The argument for women's suffrage in Virginia began in 1870, but it did not gain traction until 1909 with the founding of the Equal Suffrage League of Virginia. Between 1912 and 1916, Virginia's suffragists would bring the issue of women's voting rights to the floor of the General Assembly three times, petitioning for an amendment to the state constitution giving women the right to vote; they were defeated each time. During this period, the Equal Suffrage League of Virginia and its fellow Virginia suffragists fought against a strong anti-suffragist movement that tapped into conservative, post-Civil War values on the role of women, as well as racial fears. After achieving suffrage in August 1920, over 13,000 women registered within one month to vote for the first time in the 1920 United States presidential election.
We and Our Neighbors Clubhouse is a historic building located in the Cambrian area of San Jose, California. The Clubhouse was placed on the National Register of Historic Places on December 20, 1978. The Clubhouse is historically significant due to its role in shaping the civic and cultural life of the San Jose community. Established in 1892, it stands among the oldest General Federation of Women's Clubs within the Loma Prieta District, encompassing Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, and San Benito counties.
The Woman's Club of Upper Montclair is a women's club started in 1900 in the Upper Montclair section of the township of Montclair in Essex County, New Jersey, United States. The clubhouse, located at 200 Cooper Avenue, was added to the National Register of Historic Places on September 4, 2012, for its significance in social history from 1924 to 1940. It was listed as part of the Clubhouses of New Jersey Women's Clubs Multiple Property Submission (MPS).
