Archives West Finding Aid

General Federation of Women's Clubs

The General Federation of Women's Clubs traces its origins to 1868 and the founding of the Sorosis Club in New York. That year, a newspaperwoman named Jane Cunningham Croly (pen name Jennie June), along with other women, were denied entrance to a banquet for Charles Dickens held at the all male New York Press Club. Croly organized the Sorosis (Greek, meaning "an aggregation; a sweet flower of many fruits") Club soon after.

In 1889, Croly proposed a meeting in New York of women's clubs throughout the country (many in existence before the Sorosis Club was formed) to celebrate the 21st anniversary of her club. At that meeting, the delegates proposed to form a permanent organization of United States women's clubs. A committee was formed, chaired by Sorosis President Ella Dietz Clymer, which wrote a constitution. In 1890, the constitution of the General Federation of Women's Clubs was ratified, and Charlotte Emerson Brown of the Sorosis Club became its first president. The United States Congress chartered the GFWC in 1901.

The motto of the GFWC is "Unity in Diversity," after a line in a speech given by Clymer at the first conference. Their mission statement describes the GFWC as "an international women's organization dedicated to community improvement by enhancing the lives of others through volunteer service." Some notable members of the GFWC include Julia Ward Howe, Jane Addams, Eleanor Roosevelt, and Margaret Chase Smith. They are currently located in 20 countries, with members volunteering 13 million hours of work and contributing $35 million annually. Their headquarters, which was designated a National Historic Landmark by the National Parks Service and the Secretary of the Interior, is located in Washington, D.C., as is their archives, which keeps records dating back to the founding of the organization in 1890.

Through the years, the GFWC has supported many progressive legislative reforms, such as child labor laws, the Pure Food and Drug Act, the Equal Rights Amendment, and the Americans with Disabilities Act. In 2000, they created the Women's Health Program. They have also been instrumental in forming public libraries. By the 1930s, 75 percent of the public libraries in the United States had been established by the GFWC.

Because of the vast number of individual women's clubs in the United States, the GFWC set up eight regions across the country. Washington State is located in the Western States Region, along with Alaska, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, and Wyoming.

Washington State Federation of Women's Clubs

Washington State Federation of Women's Clubs (later the General Federation of Women's Clubs -- Washington State)

The Washington State Federation of Women's Clubs was established in 1896 as a member of the GFWC. The WSFWC is comprised of six districts: the Columbia, King County, North Central, Peninsula, Rainier Pacific, and Northeastern (comprised mainly of Spokane area women's clubs) Districts. By 1998, the WSFWC had changed its name to the General Federation of Women's Clubs -- Washington State.

Junior Membership of the Washington State Federation of Women's Clubs

With the success of the Washington State Federation of Women's Clubs, there came a desire to train young women in how to become successful clubwomen when they became older. The idea was to form junior clubs for young women between the ages of 12 and 17. These clubs would serve as training schools for future clubwomen. When this did not produce the desired results, the age limit was changed. Women under the age of 40 could participate in junior clubs (this was later changed again: women between the ages of 18 and 35 were allowed).

The first junior club in Washington, the Rosalma Club, met in Yakima in 1925. In 1931, the first annual meeting of junior clubs was held, and in 1935, the Washington State Federation of Junior Women's Clubs was established, with 56 clubs as members and Charlotte Gyllenberg as its first president. The organization divided the state into the same districts as the WSFWC had.

The oldest Northeastern District (comprised of Spokane area clubs) junior federated club was the Beta Juniors, out of Spokane. Founded in 1949 and disbanded in 2002, the Beta Juniors were instrumental in forming the Northeastern District of Junior Clubs. An early form of the Northeastern District was the Tri Gamma Juniors, comprised of the Beta Juniors, the Spokane Valley Juniors, and the Delta Juniors.

In 1955, the GFWC ruled that there cannot be a state federation within a federal federation. As a result, the Washington State Federation of Junior Women's Clubs was forced to change its name to the Junior Membership of the Washington State Federation of Women's Clubs, and the title of President was changed to Director.

Glossary of Acronyms:

• GFWC: General Federation of Women's Clubs
• WSFWC: Washington State Federation of Women's Clubs
• GFWC-WS: General Federation of Women's Clubs -- Washington State
• JMWSFWC: Junior Membership of the Washington State Federation of Women's Clubs