Woman's Club of Fort Worth
Fort Worth, Tarrant County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Women from eleven social and study groups, some formed before 1900, joined in 1923 to create the Woman's Club of Fort Worth. Miss Anna Shelton, who led the unification drive, served as the first President of the club. The charter members first met in a house donated by Etta O. (Mrs. William G.) Newby. As the club grew, it acquired other buildings. The organization performs many civic, charitable, and educational activities and maintains a Texana library collection. Membership in 1975 totaled about 3000.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
In 1923, women from eleven social and study circles, some dating back before 1900, merged into the Woman's Club of Fort Worth under the leadership of Miss Anna Shelton, its first president. The charter members first gathered in a house donated by Etta O. Newby before the growing club acquired buildings of its own. Its members carried on civic, charitable, and educational work and built a Texana library, and by 1975 the club counted some 3,000 members.
Why it matters
The club is a window into the women's-club movement, through which American women organized civic and cultural life and built public influence decades before and after they won the vote.
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Related people
- · Anna Shelton
- · Etta O. Newby
Themes & tags
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