The Atlanta Woman’s Club is one of oldest non-profit woman’s organizations in Atlanta, organized November 11, 1895. It is a 501(c)3 non-profit philanthropic organization made up of professional women of all ages, races and religions.
The Atlanta Woman’s Club is part of the Georgia Federation of Women’s Clubs, as well as the General Federation of Women's Clubs. The Georgia Federation of Women's Clubs (GFWC Georgia) is a state organization composed of 150 women's clubs throughout the State of Georgia, whose members provide volunteer service to their communities. Each Club sets their own agendas and works on projects and programs that address the specific needs of their communities. Members of all ages have opportunities for personal growth and enrichment through leadership training and development. Every Georgia clubwoman is also a member of the General Federation of Women's Clubs (GFWC). The General Federation of Women’s Clubs is an international philanthropic organization headquartered in Washington, D.C. The General Federation of Women's Clubs is the oldest, non-denomination, non-partisan, largest international service organization of volunteer women in the world with a membership of 10 million worldwide, in 40 countries.
Club history
As quoted by former President Jimmy Carter and his wife, Roslyn Carter in their foreword in “A Light on Peachtree: A History of the Atlanta Woman’s Club - “Many in Atlanta may not realize that our city and the state of Georgia could have faced a very different history had it not been for the successful advocacy and funding of several important projects undertaken by the Atlanta Woman’s Club, most notably with the inception and development of the Atlanta airport ...”
The Atlanta Woman’s Club was formed in 1895 following a meeting of the Cotton States Exposition in Piedmont Park. The council of the General Federation of Women’s Clubs (GFWC) was in held Atlanta and Rebecca Douglas Lowe was present at this meeting. Following the meeting at Piedmont Park in the fall of 1895, Mrs. Lowe gathered together a group of interested ladies in her home. After this gathering, the Atlanta Woman’s Club was formed and Mrs. Lowe was elected its leader. In 1896, Mrs. Lowe invited 17 other women’s clubs to meet and form the Georgia Federation of Women’s Clubs. She became the President of the GFWC Georgia in 1897. She ultimately went on to serve as the president of the General Federation of Women’s Clubs (GFWC)from 1898-1902.
The Atlanta Woman's Club's first home was in Mrs. Lowe’s home. The Club then moved to the DeGive Opera House in downtown Atlanta, which was also known as the Loew's Grand Theatre. In 1910, the Atlanta Woman's Club purchased its first home, which was the Christian Science building located on West Baker Street at the intersection of Peachtree Street and West Peachtree. The Atlanta Woman’s Club remained in that home until 1920 at which time they moved to the Wimbish House in Atlanta, Georgia.
1900s
The early 1900s was known as the Gilded Age and widespread economic growth pushed the U.S. ahead of Britain, especially through heavy industry like factories, railroads, and coal mining. These businesses were powered by a cheap underclass of laborers, many of whom were small children. When the first Club President Rebecca Lowe encouraged the Club to look into areas of needed reform, GFWC clubwomen of this era responded by working for a public kindergarten, better working conditions, the enactment of child labor laws, and the creation of night schools for child factory workers. The General Federation of Woman’s Club expressed at the time “So long as children six years of age are employed in mills and factories can any woman’s club say it has no responsibility?” At the same time clubwomen continued to broaden their own educational opportunities and those of community by hosting a variety of educational lectures and programs on topics from sociology, to taxation to the arts. The Atlanta Woman's Club became part of the greater efforts of the Georgia Federation of Women's Clubs to support education in Georgia’s mountainous regions and supported the establishment of the Tallulah Falls School in 1909. According to one early Club member, “The decline in gossip is really startling. Not so much that we are better than we used to be, but just haven’t the time.”