Women's Club of Falls Church, Inc., 1947-2011

Access and use

Location of collection:
Mary Riley Styles Public Library
Mary Riley Styles Public Library
120 North Virginia Avenue
Falls Church, VA 22046
Contact for questions and access:
POC: Peter Sullivan
Phone: (703) 248-5030

Summary

Extent:
2 boxes
Language:
Materials in this collection are in English .

Background

Scope and content:

While there are some membership directories from 1951, the bulk of the records span 1976-2007. These are the meeting records and the monthly newsletter.

Biographical / historical:

The Woman's Club of Falls Church was organized on October 6, 1947 and federated in 1948. A certificate of incorporation was issued in 1956, the purpose being "to influence the betterment of the Community of Falls Church." It was also a member of the General Federation of Women's Clubs (GFWC) Virginia as well as the national GFWC. After many years of service to the Falls Church community the club disbanded in May 2011.

The Woman's Club bought the property at 222 North Washington Street, the "Washington House," in 1961 to use as a clubhouse. It was built in 1879 as the First Congregational Church of Falls Church. The building then served as the town's first library, a public school, a recreation center, the police department and town hall. After the new municipal building was completed, it was auctioned off in 1961, and the Woman's Club was the winning bidder.

Acquisition information:
The processing, arrangement, and description was completed in July 2022.
Arrangement:

The arrangement of the records was retained, as was the heading on the file folders. The records were organized by the archivist into the various series. Series 1 is the bylaws and state reporting forms. Series 2 has membership directories but it is not a complete set. The earlier membership directories also include the bylaws. Series 3 and 4 are Board Meeting Minutes and Club Meeting Minutes, respectively, from 1976-2006. Some financial records comprise Series 5. Series 6 contains some correspondence, and Series 7 is the monthly newsletter, On Record.

Also of interest are the Woman's Club scrapbooks of the Club for the years 1947-2010. These are housed separately in the Falls Church History Room.