In The Heart of Milwaukee, Oldest Women's Club in America
A feminine touch in a masculine city
The Great Hall inside Milwaukee’s historic cream brick building which houses the Woman’s Club of Wisconsin, the nation’s oldest women’s social club (1876).
It’s not all beer and motorcycles in this testosterone fueled town.
Known for its brewing heritage - Pabst, Schlitz, Miller - and roaring V8 engines - Harley Davidson - Milwaukee is also home to the oldest women’s club in America.
Founded in 1876, the Woman’s Club of Wisconsin (WCW) was started by a group of progressively minded ladies at a time when men exercised dominion over all economic and political decisions.
They were seeking intellectual discourse, engagement, and exchange of ideas in a centralized location rather than in each other’s homes.
“The club has always been built on learning, friendship, and community service,” says Carrie Matteson, President of the WCW’s Board of Directors.
The original 19th century organizers were inspired by Julia Ward Howe, the Bostonian abolitionist who wrote ‘The Battle Hymn of the Republic’ (1861).
Financially strapped after discovering that her deceased husband had mismanaged the family affairs, the widowed Howe delivered an earful to an assembly of Milwaukee ladies about the need for women’s self-reliance and empowerment.
Led by Martha Mitchell, wife of Wisconsin’s then wealthiest man, Alexander Mitchell, the WCM was formed on October 9, 1876.
U.S. Army General Henry Robyn Roberts, author of the famous parliamentary procedures reference book, ‘Robert’s Rules of Order’, ran the first meeting.
Roberts wrote the WCM’s bylaws, which stated:
The object of this Club shall be primarily to elevate and purify our civilization. As a means toward this end, it shall seek to excite woman to intellectual and moral culture, and also to a careful study of the practical arts of our common life.
A few years later, the Club created the country’s first women-owned stock company, which sold shares, bought land, and built The Athenaeum, its current home.
Designated a National Historic Landmark, the cream stone building was completed in 1887 and today provides space for meetings, weddings, lectures, luncheons, and dinner parties.
Graceful decor, elegant furnishings, glittering chandeliers, and stained-glass windows add to the refined intimacy of the Club interior.
Among its notable early drives, the WCW advocated for children’s parks and playgrounds during an era when none existed.
“Women of this organization helped start kindergartens nationally,” notes Matteson. The first kindergarten in America appeared in Watertown, Wisconsin (1856).
Surviving Prohibition, the Great Depression, and the war years, the WCW has operated continuously since its inception and next year will celebrate its sesquicentennial.
With some 200 members, the Club includes descendants of prominent families such as the Uihleins (Schlitz beer) who were long associated with the institution.
Each year, members nominate their favorite local non-profit for a grant award. “Our foundation has given out $1.6 million in grants in the past 60 years.”
For its 125th anniversary, the Club commissioned a public arts project of 6 sculpted aluminum birds, entitled ‘Birds of Knowledge of Good and Evil’.
Situated directly across from the Club entrance, the winged creatures soar above the ground, emphasizing the importance of community service in the fabric of city life.
The lead gift came from the Jane Pettit Bradley Foundation, which was set up by a scion of the co-founder of the Allen-Bradley Company, an equipment manufacturer (now owned by Rockwell Automation) that traces its Wisconsin roots to 1903.
Rich in history and tradition, the WCW continues its mission of engaging members with social, educational, and cultural programs that seek to benefit the community.
One notable difference from 1876 - membership has been open to men since 2000.
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