“To advance the social, civic, educational and moral welfare of Winter Park, and also to seek by cooperation with other similar clubs to promote knowledge of, and interest in, the work of women throughout the state and nation.”

The Women’s Club gave female residents the chance to express themselves in a gender segregated society. The quotation above came from the organization’s first club book. The club experience many challenges at its founding, such as the lack of a meeting location. Despite this, they were able to find meeting space and spread their community betterment message.  Subsequently, clubwomen contributed a great deal to Winter Park and the Women’s Club presence today symbolizes both a link to the past as well as a community service tradition that continues today.  

Coming Together

The original planners of the club were Lucy Blackman, Alice Knox and Lucy Meriwether in 1914.  These women were not the officially founders of the club.  That honor goes to Mrs. Helen Morse who officially held the Women’s Club first meeting in ‘Osceola Lodge’ on January 15, 1915. Mrs. Morse was the first president of the club with Mrs. Blackman as her vice President and Mrs. Hiram Power as secretary/treasurer.

Sixteen women formed the core of new organization. While they were dedicated and committed, they didn’t have a consistent meeting location. They held their meetings in various locations, for example at Hooker Memorial Hall, the Town Hall, homes of members, and the library. In 1917, the secretary/treasurer of the club initiated a search for a permanent location. The search ended when Charles Morse (Mrs. Morse’s husband) offered them a permanent location and an additional five thousand dollars towards the construction of a club building.  Other members also contributed one hundred dollars for the clubhouse to be built.  Construction began on the Women’s Club permanent home in 1920.  The clubhouse was finished in early 1921 and the first meeting held in the new building on January 21st.   The club house became the center for socializing and culture for the whole community, but it also provided a base to expand club women’s efforts to attract more members and educate women in Winter Park.  The club house included the Helen Morse Hall, an auditorium were women gave lecture and conducted discussions on different subjects.

 

The ‘Twigs’ and their Education

As stated in their first year book, clubwomen aimed to help the community by serving those less fortunate, but they also sought to improve and challenge themselves.  A list of typical events taking place in January 1956 include Bridge class, new member tea, public affair lunch, and book review.

They also provided classes in French, drama, music, and first aid courses instructed by Dr. C. E. Coffin.

 

Even before they had a club house, the Women’s Club had created departments in Music Study, International Relations, Art and Literature and Home Economics. Later, they added ‘for literary, education and charitable purposes’ to their initial motto. Furthermore, to combine their interest in International Relations they volunteered to tutor foreign students to understand and be comfortable with the American language and culture.  In addition, they began a scholarship program in 1938, holding fundraisers to raise money for student to attend college that continues today. In 1995, the Women's Club gave out ten scholarships totaling 10,000 dollars to high school and college students.

The members originally broke up to form sixteen ‘twigs’ or committees, to help pay for the remaining debt of their clubhouse.  However, the ‘twigs’ later turned into community service groups. During wartime, these groups were dedicated to the war effort. The Women’s Club sent 20,560 surgical dressings and 700 pounds of marmalade to the wounded French soldiers during WWI. In 1921, they sponsored the first community Christmas tree and they made quilts for sick babies. They held the first flower show in 1923, which inspired the formation of the Winter Park Garden Club; the first garden club in Florida. Four years later, they held the first Winter Park Sidewalk Art Festival for the first time with 250,000 visitors; it quickly turned into a successful local tradition.

 

Increasing Members

There are two types of memberships that can be acquired in the club; a regular membership, which is open to all residence of Winter Park and its surrounding area, and a seasonal membership, which can be acquired via the endorsement of your name from two active members. Here is a brief summary to show how the membership of the Women’s Club increased over the years.

 

1915 – 16 members

1916 – 70 members

1923 – 200 members

1936 – 36 life members

            123 regular members

1946 – 576 members

1956 – 80 new members in one year

            Memberships declined between the 1950’s and 60’s as most women remained working after WWII.

1990’s – The women who were in the club since before WWII retired and new members joined

                          

The National Historic Register

The Women’s Club club house became the first building in Winter Park to be put on the National Register of Historic Places in Winter Park in 1995. In order to join the register, a nomination proposal had to prove through a questionnaire/ evaluation sheet that they were indeed worthy of historical recognition. Their preservation meeting was held on January 27th in 1993 with a proposal to support joining the register, and then the historic preservation committees were established in February of the same year.

 

The Woman’s Club Today

The Women’s Club is now located on the junction of Interlachen and Fairbanks, next door to the Suntrust building parking garage. It is still a popular place for women to socialize and contribute to community development in Winter Park.

Written by Louisa Gibbs and Wilson Saville

Works Cited

1. “Women’s club building gets listed on national historic register”, The Orlando Sentinel, 14 January 1996, Sunday Edition.

2.  “Woman’s club Installs 1998-99 officers”, The Observer, 28 May 1998.

3.  “Woman’s club has notables Among Membership”, The Winter Park Herald, 16 February 1950.

4.  “Woman’s Club was founded with 30 members”, The Winter Park Herald, 22 February 1935.

5.  “Updating the Facilities”, The Orlando Sentinel, 31 December 1998.

6.  “Women’s Club News”, Winter Park Sun, January 1956.

7.  “Winter Park Women’s Club named on National Register of Historic Places”, City of Winter Park Update, August 1996.

8.  “For 80 years, club’s been giving help”, The Orlando Sentinel, 6 October 1994

Central Florida has an interesting and complex history that is under-explored in many ways. As a historian of the United States with special interest in urban development and planning, I have been intrigued by the people, places, and institutions in the region. To bolster student understanding of historical change, I have create a number of digital projects focused on local history.  Supported by service learning grants from the college and designed to utilize archival sources, Historic Winter Park is an ongoing learning initiative to document the unique stories in the local community.  Created by students in my history survey classes, these entries represent hands on archival research that incorporates unique materials  from the Olin Library Special Collection and Archive, Winter Park Public Library, field work, and oral histories.  Find more information on about digital history from my homepage.

Dr. Julian C. Chambliss Homepage