Woman's Century Club records, 1891-2021

Overview of the Collection

Creator
Woman's Century Club (Seattle, Wash.)
Title
Woman's Century Club records
Dates
1891-2021 (inclusive)
Quantity
26.63 cubic feet (70 boxes and 1 vertical file)
Collection Number
4033
Summary
Records of a Seattle women's social and service club
Repository
University of Washington Libraries, Special Collections
Special Collections
University of Washington Libraries
Box 352900
Seattle, WA
98195-2900
Telephone: 2065431929
Fax: 2065431931
speccoll@uw.edu
Access Restrictions

Open to all users.

Languages
English

Historical NoteReturn to Top

The Woman's Century Club was founded by ten Seattle women (including the club's first president, suffragist Carrie Chapman Catt) on July 31, 1891. The club was organized at the home of Julia E. Kennedy, Seattle's first female superintendent of schools. Its purpose was to promote the intellectual growth of its members and to lend its influence toward solving altruistic problems of the community. The club was named in reference to the nineteenth century, which many women called the Woman's Century in recognition of the great accomplishments women had made in those years. The Woman's Century Club, both a social and educational club, was comprised of "departments" or interest groups representing members' academic interests, including Art, Current Events, Drama, Household Administration, Literature and Travel, Music, Parliamentary Procedure, Philosophy and Science, Political Science, and Social Service. The club also served the community by, among other initiatives, paying the salary of the city's first librarian and working to raise the age of consent from 12 to 18.

After first meeting at the Seattle Public Library and at members' homes, the club built its own meeting space in 1925 at 807 East Roy Street (the Harvard Exit) in Seattle's Capitol Hill neighborhood. The space allowed the club to host popular activities including lectures and presentations, concerts, theatrical productions, receptions (one honoring Amelia Earhart in 1933), and more. Upon the building’s transformation into a movie theater in 1968, the club continued to meet in the lobby of the Harvard Exit until January 2015. The building was then sold and slated for offices and a restaurant, and club meetings were held at the Dearborn House on First Hill.

For forty years between the 1920s and 1960s, the club also had a separate Juniors group that was open to the daughters of club members.

(Source: "Woman's Century Club (Seattle)" essay by Mildred Andrews (1998), historylink.org and “After 90 years at the Harvard Exit, Woman’s Century Club finds a new First Hill home” by Bryan Cohen (2015), http://www.capitolhillseattle.com)

Content DescriptionReturn to Top

Yearbooks, correspondence, financial statements, reports, constitutions and bylaws, contracts and agreements related to the WCC club house, membership cards, clippings, programs, event materials, scrapbooks, early member papers and writings, department meetings minutes, club directories, guestbooks, realia, as well as scrapbooks and records from the Juniors group.

Use of the CollectionReturn to Top

Restrictions on Use

Restrictions may exist on copying, quotation, or publication. Contact Special Collections, University of Washington Libraries for details.

Administrative InformationReturn to Top

Arrangement

Organized into 5 accessions.

  • Accession No. 4033-001, Woman's Century Club records, 1911-1951
  • Accession No. 4033-002, Woman's Century Club (WCC) archives, 1891-2015
  • Accession No. 4033-003, Woman's Century Club records, 1892-2014
  • Accession No. 4033-004, Woman's Century Club records, 1920-2015
  • Accession No. 4033-005, Woman's Century Club records, 2008-2021

Separated Materials

Photographs from box 2 of -001, box 42 and 43 of -002 transferred to Woman's Century Club photograph collection (PH2017-056)

Related Materials

The Woman's Century Club website has been regularly captured by the Internet Archive Wayback Machine since 2016. The snapshots can be viewed here: https://wayback.archive-it.org/4224/*/http://www.womanscenturyclub.org/

Detailed Description of the CollectionReturn to Top

 

Accession No. 4033-001: Woman's Century Club records, 1911-1951Return to Top

.62 cubic foot (2 boxes)

Scope and Content: Yearbooks, financial statements, membership cards, clippings, and programs.

Restrictions on Access: Open to all users.

Restrictions on Use: Creator's literary rights not transferred to the University of Washington Libraries.

Acquisition Info: Donated by Kitsap County Historical Society, 2/22/1989.

Accession No. 4033-002: Woman's Century Club (WCC) archives, 1891-2015Return to Top

17.27 cubic feet (51 boxes)

Scope and Content: Woman's Century Club scrapbooks, early member papers and writings, department meetings minutes, club directories, guestbooks, and artifacts, as well as scrapbooks and records from the Juniors group.

Restrictions on Access: Open to all users.

Restrictions on Use: Creator's literary rights not transferred to the University of Washington Libraries.

Acquisition Info: Mimi Sheridan Woman's Century Club, 2015-05-29

Container(s) Description Dates
Box Accession
1 4033-002
Scrapbook #1, 1893 Chicago World's Fair Book 1, History of the Woman's Century Club, 1891-1893
1893
2 4033-002
Scrapbook #2, 1893 Chicago World's Fair Book 2, Manual of the Woman's Century Club
1893
3 4033-002
Scrapbook #3, Mrs. Kerr's press book
1923-1924
3 4033-002
Scrapbook #4, Books owned by Carrie Chapman Catt
4 4033-002
Scrapbook #5, Mrs. Maude Graham's scrapbook, part 1
1926-1935
5 4033-002
Scrapbook #6, Mrs. Piggot's scrapbook
1932-1933
6 4033-002
Scrapbook #7, with Mrs. Zednick's and Lulu Zinn Kerr's histories
1923-1932
7 4033-002
Scrapbook #8, Mrs. Maude Graham's scrapbook, part 2
1927-1939
8 4033-002
Scrapbook #9, Mrs. Lloyd X. Coder's scrapbook
1927-1934
9 4033-002
Scrapbook #10
1933-1936
10 4033-002
Scrapbook #11
1936-1937
11 4033-002
Scrapbook #12
1938-1939
12 4033-002
Scrapbook #13
1939-1940
13 4033-002
Scrapbook #14, 50th Anniversary scrapbook
1940-1941
14 4033-002
Scrapbook #15
1942-1943
15 4033-002
Scrapbook #16
1944-1945
16 4033-002
Scrapbook #17
1945-1946
17 4033-002
Scrapbook #18
1946-1947
18 4033-002
Scrapbook #19
1948-1949
19 4033-002
Scrapbook #20
1949-1950
20 4033-002
Scrapbook #21
1950-1951
21 4033-002
Scrapbook #22
1952-1953
22 4033-002
Scrapbook/Press book #23
1953-1954
23 4033-002
Scrapbook #24
1954-1955
24 4033-002
Scrapbooks #25
1955-1956
25 4033-002
Scrapbook #26
1956-1957
26 4033-002
Scrapbook #27
1957-1958
27 4033-002
Scrapbooks #28
1962-1963
28 4033-002
Memoriam Scrapbook #29
1945-1946
29 4033-002
Portraits scrapbook #30
undated
30 4033-002
Portraits scrapbook #31
undated
31 4033-002
Scrapbook #32
1989-1993, 1995-1997
32 4033-002
Scrapbook #33
1998-2000
33 4033-002
Scrapbook #34
1992-2000
34 4033-002
Scrapbook #35
2007-2010
35 4033-002
Scrapbook #36
2011-2012
36 4033-002
Scrapbook #37
2002-2008
37 4033-002
Mae Sim Thomas scrapbook #38
1958-1960
Early Member Papers and Writings
Box Accession
38 4033-002
Binder with receipt signed by Susan B. Anthony and letter to the Woman's Century Club from her private secretary
1896
Box/Folder
38/1 4033-002
"Evolution of Woman" by Carrie Chapman Catt
August 1, 1891
38/2 4033-002
"Review and Outlook 1899" by Kate Turner Holmes
May 26, 1899
38/3 4033-002
"Ideal Club and the Ideal Woman" by Cornelia Temple Fleming
November 27, 1896
38/4 4033-002
"Founding of Seattle and Indian War" by Emily Inez Denny
38/5 4033-002
"The Madonna of the Thumb" by Emily Inez Denyn
December 3, 1899
38/6 4033-002
"Wonders in Modern Science" by Maud Kellogg Welbon
April 13, 1900
38/7 4033-002
"Hygiene in Education" by Francis Coiner
March 25, 1897
38/8 4033-002
"Prominent Spaniards in America" by Emma Crippen
November 11, 1898
38/9 4033-002
"The Education of Girls" by Anna B. Allen
March 11, 1898
38/10 4033-002
"Women of the White House" by Mrs. Hannah M. Denton
38/11 4033-002
"Birds of Washington" by Marmora DeVoe
April 28, 1899
38/12 4033-002
"Writers of the Victorian Era" by Ella J. Snoke
March 28, 1902
38/13 4033-002
"Age" by Mrs. Swanson
38/14 4033-002
"Death of Columbus" by Mrs. Anna Fishback
38/15 4033-002
"Libraries Ancient and Modern" by Elizabeth H. Shumway
September 23, 1898
38/16 4033-002
"Democracy and Social Ethics" by Julia E. Kennedy
38/17 4033-002
"Juvenile Literature" by Elizabeth R. McCullough
October 22, 1897
38/18 4033-002
"Town Meetings" by Elizabeth R. McCullough
May 12, 1899
38/19 4033-002
"Art and Architecture" by Lulu Zinn Kerr
38/20 4033-002
"The Art of Woodgraving in America" by Mrs. Cornelia Temple Fleming
March 1896
38/21 4033-002
"Writers of Washington" by Mary Barrett Hagan
December 31, 1897
Early Member Papers and Magazines
Box/Folder Accession
39/1 4033-002
Woman's Century Club Magazine background information
1899
39/2 4033-002
"The Winged Victory" by Mrs. H.C. Hills (Carrie B. Hills)
1899
39/3 4033-002
"Thoreau" by Dr. Marmora De Voe
1899
39/4 4033-002
"Greetings" by Rose Simmons
1899
39/5 4033-002
"A Reminiscence of the Civil War" by Jeanette J. Langley
January 7, 1899
39/6 4033-002
"An American Patriot's Hymn" by Elizabeth Calvert
1899
39/7 4033-002
"The Disarmament Proposition" by Annie M. Brown
1899
39/8 4033-002
"Dullness Amongst School Children" by Celeste Langley
1899
39/9 4033-002
"Notes" by Dr. Sarah Kendall
1899
39/10 4033-002
"Dreams of a Devotee of Fashion" by Emily Inez Denny
1899
39/11 4033-002
"Springtime" by Nell P. Phillips
1899
39/12 4033-002
"The W.C.T.U." by Ellen K. Simison
1899
39/13 4033-002
"New Birth Letter" by Cornelia T. Fleming and Mary Barrett Hagan
1899
39/14 4033-002
"A Visit to the Presidio, San Francisco" by Maud Kellogg Welbon
1899
39/15 4033-002
"The Hollow of His Hand" by Sara Stephen Williams
1899
39/16 4033-002
Woman's Century Club Magazine 1900 background information
1900
39/17 4033-002
"Woman's Way" by Elizabeth H. Calvert
1900
39/18 4033-002
"Struck it Rich" by Helen P. Holmes
1900
39/19 4033-002
"A Trip to Monterey" by Maud K. Welbon
1900
39/20 4033-002
"Our Outlook Poem" by Rose Simmons
1900
39/21 4033-002
"An Etching" by Kate T. Holmes
1900
39/22 4033-002
"An Unchanged Pattern" by Mary B. Hagan
1900
39/23 4033-002
"The Hoosier Country" by Esther K. Givens
1900
39/24 4033-002
"A Floating Hospital" by Elizabeth Shumway
1900
39/25 4033-002
"A Story of the Mind" by Lulu Zinn Kerr
1900
39/26 4033-002
"Western Washington Winter" by Dr. Marmora DeVoe
1900
39/27 4033-002
"A Protest" by Bessie I. Savage
1900
39/28 4033-002
A New Years Wish by Sara Stephen Williams
1900
39/29 4033-002
A Windom in Thrums by Ellen K. Simison
1900
39/30-31 4033-002
My Impressions of the Woman's Century Club 1941-1945 by Marion C. French
1945
Box
40 4033-002
Department Minutes: Drama, Art, Chorus, Music, Literature and Travel, Ways and Means
1908-1972
41 4033-002
Department Minutes: Current Events, Social Service, American Home, House, Household, Political Science, Parliamentary, Bylaws
1922-1974
42 4033-002
Directories and Yearbooks
1895-2015
42 4033-002
Copies of photographs and information about club history
undated
43 4033-002
Guest Book (contains Amelia Earhart's signature)
1925-1938
43 4033-002
Copies of clubhouse construction information and floor plans
44 4033-002
Guest Books
1957-2011
45 4033-002
Junior records
46 4033-002
Junior scrapbook
1938-1939
47 4033-002
Junior scrapbooks
1952-1953, 1955-1956
48 4033-002
Junior scrapbook
1956-1957
49 4033-002
Chair Nameplates
undated
50 4033-002
World War I Service flag and other flags
51 4033-002
Groundbreaking shovel
1925

Accession No. 4033-003: Woman's Century Club records, 1892-2014Return to Top

7.21 cubic feet (11 boxes)

Scope and Content: Additions to records for the Woman's Century Club (WCC). Records include meeting minutes, reports, constitutions and bylaws, contracts and agreements related to the WCC club house, summary financial records, program and event materials, newsclippings, membership applications and records, correspondence, WCC rubber stamps, press, gavel, and photo blocks.

Restrictions on Access: No restrictions on access.

Restrictions on Use: Creator's literary rights not transferred to the University of Washington Libraries

Acquisition Info: Mimi Sheridan (President), 2016-03-30 ; 2016-07-12

Container(s) Description Dates
Series 1: Meeting Minutes
1895-2008
Box/Folder Accession
1/1-10 4033-003
Meeting Minutes
1895-1932
2/1-27 4033-003
Meeting Minutes
1932-1962
3/1-16 4033-003
Meeting Minutes
1962-2008
3/17 4033-003
Meeting Minutes (Board of Managers)
1929-1934
3/18 4033-003
Meeting Minutes (Board of Managers)
1944-1967
3/19 4033-003
Meeting Minutes (Misc. Departments)
1921-1965
3/20 4033-003
Meeting Minutes (History Committee)
2001
Series 2: Administrative Documents
1893-2008
Box/Folder Accession
3/21 4033-003
Constitution and Bylaws
1896-2008
3/22 4033-003
Annual Quarterly Reports
1922-1928
6/8 4033-003
Financial Statements
1951-1967
6/9 4033-003
Financial Statements
1969-1999
6/10 4033-003
Programs and Activities Finances
1955-1984
6/11 4033-003
Charitable Donations
1924-1994
6/12 4033-003
Bequests
1972-1975
6/13 4033-003
Ledger
1894-1902
6/14 4033-003
Ledger
1901-1907
4/1 4033-003
Yearly Reports
1893-1968
4/2 4033-003
Financial/Treasury Reports
1967
4/26 4033-003
Financial Statements
1923-1948
Series 3: WCC Club House
1923-2014
Box/Folder Accession
4/3 4033-003
Contracts, Deeds, and Agreements
1923-1968
4/4 4033-003
Building Board Meeting Minutes
1923-1968
4/5 4033-003
Correspondence
1925-1967
4/6 4033-003
Fire
1948
4/7 4033-003
Sale Authorization Forms
1967
4/8 4033-003
Property Inventory and Appraisal
1962-2014
4/9 4033-003
1980s Remodel Building Plans
1980
4/16 4033-003
Real Estate Bonds
1925-1944
4/17 4033-003
Building Setup
1924-1927
4/18 4033-003
Maintenance
1953-1962
4/19 4033-003
Furnishings and Equipment
1925-1956
4/20 4033-003
Misc. Real Estate Records
1968-2014
4/21-23 4033-003
Meetings and Rentals
1927-1930
4/24 4033-003
Meetings and Rentals
1951-1968
4/25 4033-003
Allendale Property
1924
Series 4: WCC Programs
1892-2008
Box/Folder Accession
4/10 4033-003
Event Invitations
1892-2008
4/11 4033-003
Event Invitations
Undated
4/12 4033-003
Community Service Project
1963
4/13 4033-003
Cookbook Project
2003
Series 5: Newsclippings
1919-1945
Box/Folder Accession
4/14 4033-003
Newsclippings
1919-1945
4/15 4033-003
Newsclippings
Undated
Series 6: Membership
1914-2003
Box/Folder Accession
5/1-5 4033-003
Applications
1920-1995
5/6-7 4033-003
Member Lists
1922-2003
5/8 4033-003
Blank Application and Member Cards
Undated
5/9 4033-003
Member Questionnaire
1952
5/10 4033-003
Member Meetings
1952-1953
5/11 4033-003
Member Certificates and Recognition
1949-2001
5/12 4033-003
Member Writings
1932
5/13 4033-003
Elections
1923-2003
5/14 4033-003
Officers
Undated
Box
7 4033-003
Index Cards with Member Details
1914-1960
Series 7: Correspondence
1893-2012
Box/Folder Accession
5/15-52 4033-003
Correspondence
1893; 1914-1949; Undated
6/1-7 4033-003
Correspondence
1950-2012
Series 8 : Realia
undated
Box Accession
8-9 4033-003
Rubber/Metal Stamps
undated
10 4033-003
Impress Stamp
undated
11 4033-003
Photoblocks and Gavels
undated

Accession No. 4033-004: Woman's Century Club records, 1920-2015Return to Top

.64 cubic feet (4 boxes 1 vertical file)

Scope and Content: Correspondence, news clippings about the closing of Harvard Exit Theatre, and four scrapbooks. Also included are three publications from other Seattle societies that include rosters, programs, and a society constitution.

Restrictions on Access: No restrictions on access.

Restrictions on Use: Creator's copyrights transferred to the University of Washington Libraries Special Collections.

Acquisition Info: Donor: Carla Rickerson 2017-08-18

Container(s) Description Dates
Box Accession
1 4033-004
Scrapbook
2012
2 4033-004
Scrapbook
2013
3 4033-004
Scrapbook
2014
4 4033-004
Scrapbook
2015
VF
VF 3117 4033-004
News clippings, publications, and correspondence
Scope and Content: News clippings and magazine article about closing Harvard Exit Theatre (2014-2015) , correspondence (2012-2015), publications from other Seattle societies which includes rosters, event programs, and a society constitution (1920, 1925, 1940)
2012-2015, 1920, 1925, 1940

Accession No. 4033-005: Woman's Century Club records, 2008-2021Return to Top

0.89 cubic feet (2 boxes including three scrapbooks)

Scope and Content: Three scrapbooks, annual meeting and board meeting minutes, member lists, and publications that mention the WCC.

Restrictions on Access: Open to all users, but access to portions of the collection is restricted. Contact Special Collections for details.

Restrictions on Use: Creator's copyrights transferred to the University of Washington Libraries Special Collections. Check restrictions for curatorial review.

Acquisition Info: Donated from Carla Richerson July 22, 2022.

Container(s) Description Dates
Box/Folder Accession
1/1 4033-005
WCC general meeting minutes
2008-2010
1/2 4033-005
WCC general meeting minutes
2011-2014
1/3 4033-005
WCC general meeting minutes
2015-2016
1/4 4033-005
Annual meeting and board minutes
2017-2018
1/5 4033-005
Annual meeting and board minutes
2019-2021
1/6 4033-005
Art collection records
1/7 4033-005
WCC year in review
2020-2021
1/8 4033-005
WCC member list
Restrictions on Access: Restricted
2016-2018
1/9 4033-005
Yearbook and member list
Restrictions on Access: Restricted
2016-2018
1/10 4033-005
WCC mentioned in publications
Scope and Content: Seattle Times Pacific NW section, Historic Seattle's 10th annual preservation award benefit, and 30 Women who built Seattle
2016-2019, 2021
Box
2 4033-005
Scrapbooks
2016-2018

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Subject Terms

  • Personal Papers/Corporate Records (University of Washington)
  • Women--Washington (State)--Seattle--Societies and clubs

Corporate Names

  • Woman's Century Club (Seattle, Wash.)--Archives
  • Woman's Century Club (Seattle, Wash.)--Finance
  • Woman's Century Club (Seattle, Wash.)--Membership
  • Woman's Century Club (Seattle, Wash.)--Photographs