Founded in 1900
Federated into the General Federation of Women's Clubs in 1903, the Miami Woman’s Club has provided an unparalleled record of civic, cultural, and educational leadership, while playing a vital role in the development of Miami and the welfare of its citizens. With a strong foundation stretching back to the birth of Miami, the members continue to further its legacy, renewing its mission to serve the ever-changing communities of today’s Miami.
OUR HISTORY
Generate excitement! It was the dawn of a new century in a city just four years old. A group of visionary women had been meeting on each other’s porches to read and visit. They decided to draw up a set of by-laws and become an official club: The Married Ladies’ Afternoon Club. The year was 1900. The group quickly grew and embraced their mission to spread a literary spirit throughout Miami, focusing on collecting and circulating books. In May 1906, with more than 100 members and an overflowing library, the club voted to change its name to the Woman’s Club of Miami.
The leadership began a campaign to find a permanent location for the busy club and the thousands of volumes in the library. Their hope was that Miami’s largest landowner, Henry M. Flagler, would provide a site for a library and clubhouse for the organization. It took six years of convincing, but in August of 1912, Flagler gifted to the club a tract of land at the northwest corner of Royal Palm Park (now Flagler Street and NE 2nd Avenue). While the land was a superb location for the club’s needs, Flagler required that the Women’s Club erect a suitable club within a year, worth at least $10,000. More than 170 individuals contributed to the effort, and a total of $13,000 was raised. On June 1, 1913, the first Woman’s Club and Library building was completed and opened to the public. Eleven days earlier, Henry Flagler had died. In addition to the city’s library, the club began to reach out to new endeavors. It supported tuberculosis relief and Travelers’ Aid, it provided meeting space for the American Red Cross, chamber of commerce, the YMCA, and YWCA. During World War I, the club hosted enlisted servicemen and purchased Liberty Bonds.
Now Florida’s largest women’s club with nearly 1,000 members, the organization supported many municipal institutions. In 1916, the club played a prominent role in the founding of the State Federation at Royal Palm Park. West of Homestead, this 4,000-acre tract of hammocks and glades would be the origin of Everglades National Park. By 1923, the Woman’s Club Library, which was private, was the third largest in the state and continued to expand. In less than a decade since the club’s opening of their facility, the city of Miami has experienced explosive growth. The club leaders went back to the Florida East Coast officials and asked for a modification of their original deed. The club would be permitted to sell their building and land only if all the proceeds went to a new site and building to be used as a library and clubhouse.
In 1913, the original site and building were appraised at $23,000; in 1923, the land alone had inflated to an estimated $350,000. In April of 1923, the Woman’s Club contracted to sell the property for $345,000. The newly elected president, Mrs. Lon Worth Crow, signed the closing papers on June 17. Soon after, the club moved to a temporary location while the search began for a new site. The club signed an 18-month lease to use the former home of Julia D. Tuttle as a temporary library and clubhouse. It was Tuttle who invited Flagler to extend his railroad to Miami. Her home, which had been moved to Fort Dallas Park, was an historic landmark and one of the earliest dwellings in the city. The club’s leaders and consultants ultimately selected a stunning bayfront tract at 17th Terrace and North Bay Front Drive, just north of downtown and easily accessed by the trolley car line only a few blocks away. Nearly two acres in size, the club paid $77,500 for the land. Renowned architect August Geiger was selected to design the four-story Mediterranean revival structure, and F. H. Foster served as contractor.
