Finding aid of the Philomathean Club Records

Processed by Don Walker
Holt-Atherton Department of Special Collections
University of the Pacific Library
3601 Pacific Ave.
Stockton, CA 95211
Phone: (209) 946-2404
Fax: (209) 946-2942
URL: http://www.pacific.edu/Library/Find/Holt-Atherton-Special-Collections.html
© 2006
University of the Pacific. All rights reserved.

Finding aid of the Philomathean Club Records

Collection number: MSS 295

Holt-Atherton Department of Special Collections

University of the Pacific Library

Stockton, California
Processed by:
Don Walker
Date Completed:
2002
Encoded by:
Shan Sutton
© 2006 University of the Pacific. All rights reserved.

Descriptive Summary

Title: Philomathean Club records
Dates: 1899-2002
Collection number: MSS 295
Creator: Philomathean Club
Collection Size: 12 linear feet
Repository: University of the Pacific. Library. Holt-Atherton Dept. of Special Collections
Stockton, California 95211
Abstract: The collection contains four principal elements: yearbooks, scrapbooks, minute books, and financial records.
Physical location: For current information on the location of these materials, please consult the library's online catalog.
Languages: Languages represented in the collection: English

Access

Collection open for research.

Publication Rights

Permission for publication is given on behalf of Special Collections as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained by the researcher.

Preferred Citation

Philomathean Club records. MSS 295. Holt-Atherton Department of Special Collections, University of the Pacific Library.

Biography / Administrative History

The Philomathean Reading Club, a women's club of Stockton, California, was organized November 17, 1893. Its object was "the cultivation of literary taste and the promotion of study." When membership had grown to about 300, the Club established a Philomathean Building Association for the purpose of raising funds for a club building (1910). By the following year, the Club had raised enough money to acquire a lot at Hunter and Acacia streets and to hire W.E. Wood and Son to build a clubhouse on the site. The first meeting in the completed clubhouse took place on February 9, 1912. The two-story building contained an upstairs lecture hall/ballroom and downstairs kitchen and meeting rooms.
In 1982 the club voted to be excluded from the Magnolia Historical District so that the membership could continue to exercise control over their building. Subsequently, as a result of several break-ins, expensive building repairs, and a decline in membership, the Philomatheans relinquished their historic clubhouse to the City of Stockton (2001).

Scope and Content of Collection

The collection contains four principal elements: yearbooks, scrapbooks, minute books, and financial records. There are also a number of miscellaneous items of interest, including: a list of gifts received by the club (1912-1982), some records of the Girls' Auxiliary (1965-1971), records of the Annual Card Party (1964-1996) and the Corresponding Secretary's lists of correspondents (1955-1964).

Indexing Terms

The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.
Women - Societies and clubs - San Joaquin County (Calif.).


 

Box 1: Yearbooks. Mmost yearbooks contain: by-laws; lists of officers, committees and members; calendar of club events; the 50th and 100th year editions also contain brief club histories. 1899-2002

 

Box 2: Scrapbooks, 1916-1939

 

Box 3: Scrapbooks, 1941-1951

 

Box 4: Scrapbooks, 1955-1961

 

Box 5: Minute books, 1910-1978

 

Box 6: Minute books, 1982-1991

 

Box 7: Minute books, 1989-1993, 1996-2000

 

Box 8: Financial secretary's account books, 1915-1990

 

Box 9: Treasurer's account books, 1931-1993

 

Box 10: Miscellaneous financial records, 19291-986

 

Box 11: Stock ledgers, 1910-1931

 

Box 12: Miscellaneous records. Includes membership records, and consitutions and by-laws. 1912-1990