The Muskegon Woman's Club began in October of 1890 in a private home. Thirty charter members, determined to make a difference for themselves and their community, joined hands to improve the lives of all women. Among their accomplishments is the establishment of the first area Well Baby Clinic, a resolution to support Women's Suffrage and also to clothe the poor of Muskegon County.
In 1902, Mrs. Francis Smith donated both the land and the monies to erect the beautiful historic building that we enjoy today. Dedication of the club was held on February 17, 1903. Minnie Hubbard Smith gave a speech at this dedication stating, "I do not want this [to be] an exclusive building. I hope it will be used every day in the year. ...I want this building open to the needs of every woman in Muskegon who cares to come here."
The brightest and best joined the Club, not to be exclusive, but to be inclusive; to cultivate and celebrate the intelligence, talents, and wisdom of Muskegon's women. Many locally famous names appear in our roster. All worked tirelessly for the betterment of the lives of the women and children in our community, our county, and our state.
An active and integral part of the Muskegon Woman's Club was the Junior Department, later known as the Civic Department. This division of the Club was organized in 1919 and disbanded in 1986. This influential branch was created for the young, unmarried women of the Woman's Club. We are honored to still have four past presidents of the Junior Department as active members of the Greater Muskegon Woman's Club today.
The Muskegon Heights Woman's Club was organized in 1925. In 1961, the two groups merged to be called the Greater Muskegon Woman's Club, and so the legacy continues to this day. Women of all walks of life congregate at the club, striving to do what our ancestors did by leading the way with philanthropy, education, literature, artistic and scientific culture, as interpreted and implemented by long-established policy.
Our historic building, both a landmark and a legacy, is one of the crowning jewels in Muskegon's downtown district today. As one of the few remaining dedicated clubhouses in continuous use by a Woman's Club in our nation, it enhances the cultural history of our city and embraces its heritage. Our building is a landmark on a prestigious corner, predating its neighbors, the Muskegon Museum of Art and the Hackley Public Library. A legacy to the founders' descendants and to all Muskegon women, the Club is dedicated, as our historic marker reads, "to the intellectual improvement and development of women."
