The Fortnightly Club of Helena, Montana, was founded on October 11, 1890, by Mrs. Frances (Fanny) Webster Wickes, for the study of English literature. Fanny Webster Wickes was born in September 1845 in Chicago, Illinois, the daughter of Gen. Joseph Dana Webster. She married George T. Wickes on March 31, 1868. In 1882 Fanny and George came to Montana, George worked as a manager of the Wickes mines and business in the town of Wickes, founded by his father's cousin W. W. Wickes. Fanny and George had three children: Edwin Dana; Anne (Love); and Lewis Webster.

The Fortnightly Club was the first organization in the state to function as a literary circle. The group, whose membership was limited to women, was to meet "at half past two o'clock on the afternoons of the first and third Saturdays of each month." It was agreed that each member be required to spend not less than three hours a week in study for the club work; that for any failure to do so there be a fine of one cent per half hour; that for absence from meetings, except in cases of illness or absence from town, there be a fine of ten cents; and for tardiness, five cents. Membership fees were set at a dollar a year. As the club grew its membership was limited to 33, and eventually to 20.

Within the first few years, Club members branched out to include the study of Western literature and drama. By 1901 the focus had expanded to include the arts in general, and in 1904 the Club's name was changed to the Fortnightly Study Class. In 1919 the program began to include current events and philosophy, and by the 1920s "Negro music" was being performed. The Club was renamed the Fortnightly Club in 1931.