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Washington State Federation of Women's Clubs Records, 1943-1994

Overview of the Collection

Creator
Washington State Federation of Women's Clubs
Title
Washington State Federation of Women's Clubs Records
Dates
1943-1994 (inclusive)
1970-1984 (bulk)
Quantity
.7 linear ft.
Collection Number
SPC 991-0339 (collection)
Summary
The Washington State Federation of Women's Clubs Records consists of directories, photographs, newsletters, and project files belonging primarily to the Northeastern District of the Washington State Federation of Women's Clubs.
Repository
Eastern Washington University
Archives & Special Collections
Eastern Washington University Libraries
320 Media Lane - 100 LIB
Cheney, WA
99004-2453
Telephone: 5093592475
archives@ewu.edu
Access Restrictions

Collection is open to the public.

Languages
English
Sponsor
Funding for encoding this finding aid was provided, in part, by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities
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Historical Note

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.

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Historical Note

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.

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Historical Note

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.

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Historical Note

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

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Content Description

Records of women's organizations belonging primarily to the Northeastern District of the Washington State Federation of Women's Clubs, including directories, photographs, newsletters, and project files.

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Use of the Collection

Restrictions on Use

Use of this collection is subject to the rules concerning access to archival and manuscript collections at Eastern Washington University. For more information, see: http://www.ewu.edu/Library/Services/Archives.xml

Restrictions on Use

Copyright restrictions may apply. For more information or permission to publish, contact Eastern Washington University Libraries, Archives & Special Collections at (509) 359-2475, or archives@ewu.edu.

Preferred Citation

Washington State Federation of Women's Clubs Records; SPC 991-0339; box number; folder number; Archives & Special Collections, Eastern Washington University.

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Administrative Information

Acquisition Information

SPC 991-0339: Constance Edgett, 1991.

Acquisition Information

SPC 995-0373: Constance Edgett, 1995.

Acquisition Information

SPC 995-0378 (or SPC 995-0380?): Constance Edgett?, 1995.

Acquisition Information

SPC 006-0625: Marilyn Nichols, 2006.

Processing Note

Multiple accessions grouped under collection number SPC 991-0339 for descriptive purposes. Other accessions include SPC 995-0373; SPC 995-0378 (or SPC 995-0380?); and SPC 006-0625.

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Detailed Description of the Collection

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Subject Terms

  • Women poets, American--Washington (State)
  • Women--Societies and clubs--Directories
  • Women--Societies and clubs

Corporate Names

  • Washington State Federation of Women's Clubs--Records and correspondence

Form or Genre Terms

  • Directories
  • Newsletters
  • Photographs

Other Creators

  • Corporate Names

    • Poetry Scribes of Spokane (Society) (creator)

Finding aid prepared by unknown
1991

CC Attribution
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

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