Kearns, Allene H.

The Woman's Club of Olympia was organized in March 1883. Miss Mary Shelton, daughter of the founder of Shelton, WA, returned from a trip to San Francisco. She brought the interesting news of a group of men and women in that city who formed an organization and met monthly for the purpose of self-improvement. The idea sounded attractive to her Olympia women friends and they decided to form a women's group for self-improvement. Mrs. Edmund Sylvester, wife of the founder of Olympia, WA invited interested women to meet at her home. There were 9 charter members of the originally named Woman's Social Club for Mutual Improvement. On Dec. 16, 1890 they were incorporated in Washington State with the name Woman's Club of Olympia. The same year the national group was founded and the Woman's Club of Olympia became a member of the national organization. In 1897 the Washington State Federation of Women's Clubs was formed and held its first convention in Tacoma. It was decided after a few years that there was a need for a clubhouse for a meeting place of the organization. They bought a small house on the corner of 10th & Washington in Olympia, WA which served a very satisfactory meeting place until it was gutted by fire in 1907. They decided to rebuild at the same location. Although there has been renovations and remodeling through the years, it still exists as the meeting for the Woman's Club of Olympia.

From the description of A history of the Woman's Club of Olympia, 1883-1983, 1983? / by Allene H. Kearns. (Washington State Library, Office of Secretary of State). WorldCat record id: 443332948