Demorest Women's Club

Introduction

Text-to-speech Audio

The Demorest Women’s Club was founded in 1934 by a group of eleven women who first met in members’ homes. During that year the club was officially federated, and fifty-one additional members joined. In 1954, the Club purchased the existing building from the Demorest Methodist Church trustees for one dollar, and renovations began immediately. The Men’s Civic Club had previously refused to accept the building, because they thought it was too dilapidated – but the women persevered and managed to adapt the building to their needs. The Demorest Women’s Club is significant as it pertains to women’s history for its associations with the women’s club movement that took place in Georgia during the 1920s. Women’s groups had supported philanthropic causes for many years, but having their own building enabled the club to house administrative records, accommodate larger meetings, and serve as a community focal point.

Images

Backstory and Context

Text-to-speech Audio

The Demorest Women’s Club is an important part of women’s history in Habersham County, Georgia. Since the founding of the City of Demorest, certain opportunities were always available for women. Some businesses founded and managed by local women in Demorest included Nora Sosebee’s millinery shop and Loice Adams’ dressmaking home industry. After Sosebee’s Millinery Shop burned down, she opened a grocery store that she ran successfully until the 1950s. Isabel Chrisler ran a dry goods and variety store from 1916 to 1965. Lucille Swindell operated the Coffee Cup Restaurant from 1929 to the mid-1960s, and Olive van Hise was an early dance and exercise instructor from the years of 1915 to 1925. The persistence and entrepreneurial spirit shown by the business-owning women of Demorest was also exhibited by the Demorest Women’s Club in their founding of a social club and their later attempts to secure a clubhouse.

On November 9, 1934 at the invitation of Mrs. Henry C. Newell, wife of Piedmont College President, eleven of the most-prominent women of Demorest were called upon to meet in her home. As a result of this gathering, the Demorest Women’s Club was organized. The Club was officially federated on November 13, 1934 in the home of Mrs. H. B. Forrester. During 1934, fifty-one additional members joined the Club. However, the Club never became affiliated with the Georgia Federation of Women’s Clubs. Since its organization, the Demorest Women’s Club has sponsored or assisted in various community and county projects including dental and well-baby clinics, tuberculosis clinics, heart and mental health drives, maternity shelter, first-aid classes, securing city garbage pick-up, and the promotion of city beautification campaigns.

The women’s spirit of service and commitment community involvement may have partially stemmed from the participation of several members in local church missionary societies – this was one way for laywomen to take leadership roles in their church.

Several of the founding members of the Demorest Women’s Club were members of the Methodist church or had husbands who were associated with the nearby Piedmont College. Evie Gillespie recounted the acquisition of the property in an article that appeared in the Atlanta Journal newspaper on August 5, 1956. After the Methodists offered the building to the Men’s Civic Club, the men wailed “What would we do with that worn-out building if we had it!” The women went to work and set out to prove what they could do. They secured donations of cash, labor, and materials in paying for the construction as it progressed. Offers of assistance came from business owners and private citizens alike. The former “eyesore” of a building was converted to a clubhouse in less than two years. Almost all the kitchen appliances were donated, and the club acquired many fine articles of furniture, including a buffet table. Looms were installed in one room of the clubhouse to be used for weaving in order to keep alive a traditional local art. They also had a kiln for baking china or ceramics, and the downstairs was subdivided into classrooms for continuing education. The Demorest Women’s Club has a long history of promoting civic awareness, community values, and performing arts.

Sources

Demorest Women's Club, National Register of Historic Places. Accessed January 7th 2021. https://catalog.archives.gov/id/93208536.

Additional Information

Demorest Women's Club - National Register of Historic Places