Identity elements
Name and location of repository
Level of description
Collection
Title
Miami Woman's Club records
Date(s)
- 1903-2004 (Creation)
Extent
59 Boxes
Name of creator
Administrative history
The Miami Woman’s Club organizes and participates in a variety of civic and community service activities in the Miami area. It also played a lead role in establishing public libraries in Miami.
The club formed in 1900 when a group of women began meeting weekly to socialize and read. They drew up an official constitution in September of that year, as the Married Ladies’ Afternoon Club. In 1902, club members voted to emphasize the literary nature of the club and began to circulate books for $1.50 per year to non-members.
The club grew to 80 members by 1903, when it joined the State Federation of Woman’s Clubs. In 1906, the club changed its name to the Miami Woman’s Club. Henry Flagler and the Model Land Company donated land at the corner of Royal Palm Park for a club building in 1912, with the stipulation that the building must also be used as a public library and free reading room. Club membership continued to grow, and by 1916, the Miami Woman’s Club was the largest woman’s club in the state.
In 1923, the Miami Woman’s Club opened a children’s library, and sold the building at Royal Palm Park. The club purchased a site for its new facilities at Bay Shore Drive and NE 17th Terrace, and selected August Geiger as the architect for the building, which opened in 1926. The building was named the Flagler Memorial Library and Woman’s Club, and is still used by the club.
In 1924, the City of Miami began paying the operating expenses for the library, and in 1942, it took over management of the Flagler Library and other area branch libraries. The club’s Library Committee continued to serve in an advisory capacity.
With a mission of supporting education and community stewardship, the Miami Woman’s Club participates in numerous civic and community service activities. To facilitate its work, the club includes the following departments and committees: Arts Department, Conservation Department, Education Department, Home Life Department, International Affairs Department, Public Affairs Department, Budget Committee, Hospitality Committee, House Committee, Telephone Committee, Library Committee, Program Committee, Revisions Committee, Special Improvement Committee, Advisory Board, Cashier, Trustees, and Yearbook.
Content and structure elements
Scope and content
The Miami Woman’s Club Records document the club’s history, as well as its civic, community, and social activities from 1903-2004.The records include minutes from 1903-1914, 1921-1929, 1936-1939, and 1959-1967. The collection also includes yearbooks from 1907-2004, as well as correspondence (correspondents include: Judge Edith M. Atkinson, Louise Austin, Alice Johnston, Anne Stevenson Brown, Katherine B. Trippetts, Katherine S. Fitts, and Eva J. Lewis), financial reports, programs, photographs, and other documentation. Also included are over 50 scrapbooks documenting club activities, membership, and events dating from 1919-1979.
System of arrangement
The Miami Woman's Club Records are organized into three series.
Series I: Minutes
Series II: MWC Beginnings (Yearbooks)
Series III: Club Records
Series IV: Scrapbooks
Please see the Finding Aid/Inventory section of this guide for more detailed information.
Conditions of access and use elements
Conditions governing access
This collection is open for research.
Physical access
Items from this collection are kept on-campus and may be requested from the first floor Kislak Center in the Otto G. Richter Library at University of Miami.
Technical access
Conditions governing reproduction
Miami Woman's Club Records Finding Aid © 2011 University of Miami. Requests to reproduce or publish materials from this collection should be directed to asc.library@miami.edu.
Languages of the material
- English
Scripts of the material
Language and script notes
Finding aids
Generated finding aid
Acquisition and appraisal elements
Custodial history
Immediate source of acquisition
Gift, 2009.
Appraisal, destruction and scheduling information
Accruals
Related materials elements
Existence and location of originals
Existence and location of copies
Related archival materials
Cutler Ridge Woman's Club records
Woman's Club of Coconut Grove records
Related descriptions
Notes element
Specialized notes
Alternative identifier(s)
Description control element
Rules or conventions
Sources used
Access points
Subject access points
Place access points
Name access points
- Miami Woman's Club (Subject)