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The Sonoma Valley Woman's Club was formed in 1901, the same year that the General Federation of Women's Clubs organization was chartered by Congress with headquarters in Washington DC, and a year after the founding of the California Federation of Women's Clubs. SVWCs founding was spearheaded by eleven women. In contrast to other communities, where membership consisted primarily of women whose husbands were well placed, two postcards were mailed to every woman in Sonoma Valley, announcing the formation of the club and inviting them to an organizational meeting to be held October 5, 1901 at the Union Hotel in Sonoma. The club was to be called the Sonoma Valley Woman's Club, and dues were established at $1 a year. The stated purposes of the club were both social and civic improvement, the first project being the improvement of the Sonoma Plaza. The club started with 63 members and ranged, at the 1931 writing of the club history, from about 60 to 100 members. The founding of the Sonoma Valley Woman's Club was preceded by over thirty years of activism that led to the formation of the General Federation of Women's Clubs (GFWC) in 1890. The Sonoma Valley Woman's Club was able to support their causes through diligent and imaginative fundraising efforts. They began in 1903 with the Plaza Fund, which was in actuality used for a number of causes over the years, including the Carnegie Library and purchasing the Mission. Their first recorded effort was to raise $184.00 toward purchase of the Sonoma Mission. These were the proceeds from their Fourth of July Ball of 1903.14. The second recorded effort was to raise $62.85 from entertainment, to be used toward the $230.00 cost of a new fountain for the plaza, which was realized by 1905. The entertainments were an ongoing, monthly activity that added to the plaza fountain and library causes, and often consisted of a dance, or possibly a choral performance or play.

For additional information see California Revealed.

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