Woman's National Farm & Garden Association (U.S.)

The Woman's National Farm & Garden Association (WNF&GA) is an American non-profit organization dedicated to promoting agriculture and horticulture. Membership is open to men and women; chapters are active in the Northeastern United States and the East North Central States.<p>
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The WNF&GA was founded in 1914, as the Women's National Agricultural and Horticultural Association, "to promote agricultural and horticultural interests among women, and to further such interests throughout the country." In 1916, the name was changed to Woman's National Farm & Garden Association, using the singular form to reflect the importance of the individual, as well as to accommodate the name of a similar organization in England. The founders included Jane Bowne Haines, Louisa King, Elizabeth Price Martin, Elizabeth Leighton Lee, and Hilda Loines. King served as its first president from 1914 to 1921.
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During World War I, with Loines as a key organizer, WNF&GA joined other groups in organizing the Woman's Land Army of America: women agricultural volunteers replaced men called into military service. The temporary workers were known as "farmerettes."
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In 1940, the organization opened a shop in 30 Rockefeller Plaza, offering for sale items supplied by members: produce, preserves, crafts, needlework, and items for children. At their peak in the 1940s, there were nine Farm and Garden Shops, with four more locations in New York State, as well as shops in Boston; Winston-Salem, North Carolina; Gary, Indiana; and Ann Arbor, Michigan. The retail program was still active in 1960, but had ended by 1984.
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Membership is open to any person interested in the organization's objectives. Within three months of its establishment, the group had 300 members. By 1924, the number of members had risen to 4,400, and 30 years later there were 7,000. Membership peaked in 1962, at approximately 9,000. Thereafter, the size of the organization declined; by the mid-1980s, there were approximately 5,900 members. Membership in 2020 stood at 1,469.
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Over its history, the organization set up branches in more than twenty states across the country, from Maine and Florida in the east to Alaska, Washington, and California in the west. Today, WNF&GA consists of various branches in Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New York, plus members at large. The Michigan branches comprise a division.