FALLBROOK WOMAN’S CLUB
Founded in May 1907 the Fallbrook Woman’s Saturday Afternoon Club, soon became the Fallbrook Woman’ Club. In 1952, the Fallbrook Woman’s Club House moved to the historic A.J. Clark Residence, which was built by Fallbrook’s first banker Almond Jack (A.J.) Clark in 1887.
Contrary to their name, the Woman’s Saturday Afternoon Clubhouse was open on more than just Saturday afternoons. In 1911, the Club started a free reading room that was open on Tuesday evenings and was the beginning of the Club’s interest in starting a public library, which came to fruition in May 1913. The Woman’s Saturday Afternoon Club frequently arranged to hold receptions and public events on other days as well. There was always something scheduled at the Woman’s Clubhouse. On Thursday evening, March 20, 1913, the Club hosted a banquet at the Masonic Hall for the Fallbrook Commercial Club, the forerunner to the Fallbrook Chamber of Commerce. A popular event at the Clubhouse was the monthly Saturday evening strawberry and ice cream fundraiser.
Opening in May 1913, Fallbrook was the first San Diego County library branch. The library was due to the efforts of The Fallbrook Woman’s Club which offered to provide space, lights, shelving, appointing a librarian, and to raise a portion of the librarian’s salary.
The Woman’s Club of Fallbrook opened their own Movie House in June 1919 promising to show clean elevating movies and promised that Movie House profits would go into their building fund, so the money would come back to the town as improvements to their community center. The Woman’s Club Thursday night movies continued weekly for the next six years, then paused in the late 1920s. Reopening In 1931, The Woman’s Club ‘Fallbrook Theater’, as they now called it, reopened showing talkie movies twice per week. Admission was now 40 cents for adults, 15 cents for children under 12. In addition to movies, the Club often put on plays and concerts
During WWII many of the Women were Red Cross volunteers and the clubhouse was turned over to Red Cross activities, as they had done during WWI.
In 1917, the club sponsored the first Girl Scout Troop west of the Mississippi, White Rose Troop No. 1. In 1919, the club founded the first public library in Fallbrook, which was housed in the clubhouse.
During World War II, members organized the local USO, volunteered for the Red Cross, taught first-aid classes and helped take care of injured servicemen.
In 1951, the club purchased property on West Mission Street, two blocks west of North Main Street. The property included two houses built in 1876. The larger house is the current clubhouse with the garage converted to the caretaker’s cottage and the smaller house is used as a rental property.
The club proudly displays an original 1906 El Camino Real Guidepost Mission Bell used by Spanish missionaries to establish the King’s Highway connecting California missions and a ~1872 surrey donated by the Heald family of Fallbrook. The California Federation of Women’s Club replaced all the Mission Bells when Route 101 was realigned.
Countless hours of volunteer work have been given unselfishly by members to schools, churches, the hospital auxiliary, club and district activities. Members have fostered self-improvement, striven for community betterment, encouraged education and have been involved in the heart of the community since its inception. In November 2007, the club celebrated their 100th anniversary.
The Fallbrook Woman’s Club is a member of the California Federations Women’s Clubs and the General Federation of Women’s Clubs International. Its goal is to encourage women to improve their community, state and nation through volunteering their time, talents and interest. General meetings are held the second Tuesday of each month except July and August at the Fallbrook Woman’s Club at 10 a.m.
For more information, read the article “Clubhouses of the Fallbrook Woman’s Club”
