The Woman's Century Club was founded in 1891 by ten Seattle women, including noted suffragist Carrie Chapman Catt (1859-1947). Noting their times as a "Woman's Century," the founders intended the club to be both social and educational, with gatherings and lectures on a variety of topics. One noted member in the 1920s was Bertha Knight Landes (1868-1943), Seattle's first woman mayor.
The Life Membership certificate pictured here was given to Grace L. (House) Shroeder (1864-1940) in 1924. She had joined the Woman's Century Club in 1919 and her support of the club's building fund contributed to the 1925 opening of their new, three-story clubhouse on Roy Street, in the city's Capitol Hill neighborhood. The other women who signed the membership certificate are Rose Henger Harris, Secretary; Amanda Rozella MacPherson, President; and Marie F. James, Chairman, Building Board. In 1968 the club sold the clubhouse (later reopened as the Harvard Exit movie theater), although club members have continued to be active participants in the life of the city.
Caption information source: Woman's Century Club website.
Additional Information: Digital copy of this item available thanks to funding from a 2016 Institute for Museum and Library Services grant. Metadata updated as part of a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services administered by the Library Services and Technology Act, through the Washington State Library, a division of the Office of the Secretary of State.
