Collection Guide
Collection Title:
Collection Number:
Get Items:
California Federation of Women's Clubs records
MS.011
View entire collection guide
Search this collection
Table of contents
Contributing Institution:
University of California, Santa Cruz
Title: California Federation of Women's Clubs records
Identifier/Call Number: MS.011
Physical Description:
60.6 Linear Feet
102 boxes; 1 oversize folder
Date (inclusive): 1900-2022
Abstract: Convention, board minutes and reports,
club histories, yearbooks, journals, and articles recording the general history and
activities of the California Federation of Women's Club and the individual clubs within the
region.
Physical Location: Stored offsite at NRLF: Advance notice
is required for access to the papers.
Language of Material:
English .
Collection is open for research
Copyright for the items in this collection is owned by the creators and their heirs.
Reproduction or distribution of any work protected by copyright beyond that allowed by fair
use requires permission from the copyright owner. It is the responsibility of the user to
determine whether a use is fair use, and to obtain any necessary permissions. For more
information see UCSC Special Collections and Archives policy on Reproduction and Use.
California Federation of Women's Clubs records. MS 11. Special Collections and Archives,
University Library, University of California, Santa Cruz.
Boxes 1-33, 35-39 received in October 1983; Boxes 34, 40-61, 98-101 received in June 2004;
Boxes 61-69 received September 2009; Box 102 received August 2022.
The California Federation of Women's Clubs (CFWC) is part of an international community
service organization that focuses on projects that "promote education, eliminate illiteracy,
encourage productive citizenship, preserve nations natural resources, encourage healthy
lifestyles, fight to prevent crime, support the Arts, and contribute to international
understanding". The State Federation was founded in January 17, 1900 with forty clubs,
representing six thousand women. Clara Burdette (Mrs. Robert J. Burdette), Los Angeles,
became the first president. In May 1900 the California Federation joined a General
Federation of Women's Clubs, the oldest women's volunteer organization in the United States.
The Federation endorsed and supported the Child Labor Law, which was enacted in 1906. In
that same year, the Federation urged its affiliates to give financial assistance to women
seeking a higher education or industrial training and employment, giving birth to the
scholarship idea. The organization also campaigned for equal suffrage, which was achieved in
a state constitutional amendment election in October 1911. Today this non-profit
organization is divided into twenty-six districts that are governed by a president and an
executive board. It's volunteer based membership covers the cities and towns across the
California.
The material documents the California Federation of Women's Clubs general history and
administrative activity, as well as the individual club histories.
The archive is divided into eight series; CFWC History & Information (1900-2000), CFWC
Convention and Board Minutes, Reports and Projects (1921-2004), Club Histories (1988-2004),
Publications (1900-2004), Misc. Newspapers & Magazines (1906-1955), Objects (ca.
1925-1940), Photographs (1919-2000) and Microfilm (1916-2004). The publications series
contains both bound and unbound periodicals and yearbooks;
The Clubwoman,
later retitled
The Federation News,
The California Federation
News
, currently known as
The California Clubwoman.
The general arrangement follows chronological order, whereas the Club Histories are divided
into Districts and then alphabetically by club name.
There are 34 microfilm reels of CFWC minutes & reports (1927-1990), yearbooks
(1984-1990), and periodicals (1916-1990) available for use at McHenry Library, Microforms
Room. Consult library's online catalog for more complete content details. See call number
HQ1905.C3.
Linda Phipps,
Eras of Elegance : Fashionable Clothing 1850-1935 : The Anna Lee
Shetler Collection,
1995. Gift of Tustin Area Woman's Club, Spec. Coll. GT596 .P495
1995.
Women's Club of Palo Alto,
Women's Club of Palo Alto : Minutes,
1894-[1920]
, Spec. Coll. HQ1906.P35 W66 1990 v.1-3
Women's Club of Palo Alto,
Woman's [i.e. Women's] Club of Palo Alto : summary of
minutes, 1894-1920,
Spec. Coll. HQ1906.P35 W66 1990b c.2
Finding aid revision statement
This finding aid was revised in the Reparative Archival Redescription Project in 2021-2022.
Previous versions of this finding aid are available upon request.
MS 73 Santa Cruz Women's Club Records, 1907-1982
MS 115 Durham Women's Club Records, 1920-1995
MS 236 Paradise Women's Improvement Club Records, 1921-1997
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Women -- California -- Societies and clubs -- History
Business records