Kitchi Gammi Club

Introduction

Text-to-speech Audio

For more than a century, the Kitchi Gammi Club has served as a social club that catered to the city's power brokers and social elites. The organization first met in 1883 during Duluth's initial population and economic boom. The historic building was completed in 1913, a time when business leaders relied on organizational memberships as a way to become connected to leaders of industries. It was also a time when industries such as mining, production, milling, and coal distribution were on the rise. The club largely catered to white males for most of its existence, and women were excluded until 1985. Women now comprise two of the eleven members of the organization's board.

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Kitchi Gammi Club in Duluth

Backstory and Context

Text-to-speech Audio

The Kitchi Gammi Club formally incorporated on October 1, 1883, as Minnesota's first social club. The Kitchi Gammi Club has catered to wealthy business owners and the upper class for more than a century; membership is invitation-only. The club first met in the old Grand Opera House, but that building burnt down. After moving a couple of times, the organization finally found a permanent home into the historic clubhouse after its completion in 1913.

For the design of the historic building built by the Kitchi Gammi Club, the members commissioned the East-Coast architectural firm of Cram, Goodhue, and Ferguson with Bertram Grosvenor Goodhue, a musician, writer, and architectural lecturer, designed the building. He possed a solid resume that included designing buildings for West Point in New York,including its famous chapel. Construction commenced in 1912 on the Georgian, Gothic Revival Kitchi Gammi Club building; it opened in 1913. At thirty feet wide, fifty-four feet long, and three stories high, the ballroom is the club's grandest room. The club also offers guests a stunning view of Lake Superior.

The evolution of the historic social club during the 1880s coincided with a tremendous economic, construction, and population boom for Duluth. The mining or iron ore, milling of flour and timber, processing of grain, distribution of coal, and the development of railroads and canals helped Duluth grow tremendously. Duluth supported a population of 3,483 in 1880, which rose to 33,115 in 1890 and continued to climb to just under 100,000 by 1920. Indeed, Kitchi Gammi Club founders included such men as M.J. Forbes (Duluth grain trade founder & president of Consolidate Elevator), F. W. Paine (founder of Duluth National Bank, St. Luke's Hospital, and St. Paul's Episcopal Church), and several men connected to the mayor's office. During the club's first few decades, the list of members reads like a "who's who" list of business titans.

The African-American history at the social club reflects the city's broader racial history. Only 400 Black Americans lived in Duluth in 1900 (of the 53,000 total residents). When U.S. Steel opened its plant in 1916, the company recruited Black Americans living in the South to come to Duluth (and work for less than other laborers residing in the city). The recruitment failed; thus, Duluth's Black population was unable to grow. In 1920, A mob-action, public lynching of thee innocent Black men (accused of raping a White girl) spurred an outcry and was reported by numerous newspapers. The lynching highly discouraged further migrations and pushed many established Black citizens to leave Duluth. By 1940, Duluth's Black population decreased to 314 people.

The Black presence at the Kitchi Gammi Club in the first decades of the twentieth century mirrored most of the nation's elite business clubs, as noted in a 1975 interview with Almetra Robison, an African American who lived in Duluth.

Interviewer: "What do you know of the Kitchi Gammi Club? I recall that the Blacks used to work out there."

Robinson: "Yes, they were valets, worked in the kitchen, and ladies' rooms. They just did the menial things."

Today, the club policy states: "Membership in the Kitchi Gammi Club is by invitation only. The club seeks a diverse membership and will not discriminate on the basis of sex, race, religion, disability, age, marital status or national origin." The sustained lack of presence of people of color resembles the town's population; only 3% of the city's 86,000 citizens identify as Black. Meanwhile, women did not enjoy many benefits at the club for several decades, either. For several years, even wives of members had to enter the building through a side door. Women did not earn the right to join the club until 1985. As of 2020, 40 members are women (and two sit on the 11-person board).

What has not changed is the club's purpose as a haven for business elites, people of power and influence, and wealthy citizens. In addition to enjoying an array of amenities, members and their guests can broker deals and partnerships, as well as organize philanthropic endeavors. The historic building also serves as a space for hosting stylish weddings, social gatherings, and community events. Besides the members and activities, the physical structure ultimately serves as a tangible reminder of how Duluth rapidly grew during the Gilded Age and Progressive Era. Speculators invested in mining, milling, and distributing raw materials, which inspired immigrants and American migrants to seek jobs in the growing city and helped entrepreneurs gain wealth as the investments succeeded.

Sources

Dierckins, Tony. "Kitchi Gammi Club." Zenith City Online. zenithcity.com. Accessed July 30, 2020. http://zenithcity.com/archive/historic-architecture/kitchi-gammi-club/

Fedo, Michael. Lynchings In Duluth. 2nd ed., St. Paul: Minnesota Historical Society Press, 2000

Nelson, Charles W. "Nomination Form: Kitchi Gammi Club." National Register of Historic Places. nps.gov. April 16, 1975. https://npgallery.nps.gov/GetAsset/17b5dbd5-1dfa-4436-8318-2b8570381aff/.

Passi, Peter. "Kitchi Gammi to Mark 125 years." Duluth News Tribune (Duluth) June 18th 2007. https://www.duluthnewstribune.com/news/2365014-kitchi-gammi-mark-125-years

Robinson, Almetra. Interview with David Taylor, Musa Foster, and Malik Simba. Minnesota Black History Project. July 8, 1975. https://media.mnhs.org/things/cms/10263/914/OH43_22_M.pdf

Image Sources(Click to expand)

By Elkman - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=4828960