Matinee Musical Club
Rockdale, Milam County, Texas
Marker Inscription
In January 1909, Mary Ann (Coffield) Perry organized the Matinee Musical Club on the front porch of her home at this site. Pearl Cauthon served as the first president of the club, which met regularly to study and perform music. Yearbooks document annual themes, including classical music, and Texas women and American composers. The 1916 yearbook shows the club mascot, George Sessions Perry, who became a noted Texas writer. The group, active in both the Texas and National Federations of Music Clubs, continues to share and study musix, bringing culture and art to its members and to Rockdale through annual programs and regular meetings. (2006)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
In January 1909, Mary Ann Coffield Perry gathered friends on her front porch in Rockdale to found the Matinee Musical Club, a group devoted to studying and performing music. Its yearbooks recorded annual themes on classical music, Texas women, and American composers, and its 1916 mascot was a young George Sessions Perry, who grew up to become a noted Texas writer. Active in both state and national federations of music clubs, the group brought culture to a small Texas town for generations.
Why it matters
Women's clubs like this one were the cultural engines of small-town America, bringing art, education, and civic life to communities far from any concert hall.
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Related people
- · Mary Ann Coffield Perry
- · Pearl Cauthon
- · George Sessions Perry
Themes & tags
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