Women's Civic Clubs

The Lotus Club, still active today, is the oldest women’s club in Hot Springs. It was organized on October 10, 1890, by Mrs. E. W. Rector and Mrs. Prosper (Sarah) Ellsworth, with Mrs. Lillian B. Cantrell serving as its first president. From its founding, the club emphasized intellectual and cultural enrichment. Each month, twenty active members present programs focused on literary, musical, and artistic subjects, continuing a tradition of women-led cultural engagement that has endured for more than a century.

The Fortnightly Club of Hot Springs is the second oldest of the federated clubs in Hot Springs which was organized in 1895 at the Ellsworth home, known as Wildwood. It was organized by Mrs. R. B. Jaggers and Mrs. W . E. Sorrels, with Mrs. David Beitler being the first president. It became a charter member of the Arkansas Federation of Women’s Clubs in 1897, later affiliated with the General Federation of Women’s Clubs in 1908. Its primary interests included education, child study, art, women’s suffrage, and traveling libraries, reflecting the broader women’s club movement’s emphasis on community improvement and public education at the turn of the twentieth century.

Key Fortnightly Club Contributions

• One of Hot Springs’ earliest and most influential women’s civic organizations, founded during the height of the women’s club movement
• Charter member of the Arkansas Federation of Women’s Clubs, linking Hot Springs women to statewide civic and reform efforts
• Affiliated with the General Federation of Women’s Clubs, connecting local leadership to national networks
• Played a leadership role within the Council of Hot Springs Federation of Women’s Clubs, helping coordinate joint projects among local clubs
• Hosted the first Arkansas Federation of Women’s Clubs (AFWC) annual meeting on April 20–22, 1898 and  participating in the hosting of a national GFWC convention held in Hot Springs in 1918 and 1930
• Promoted education, literature, and the arts via programs and public engagement. Supported libraries, schools, and cultural institutions, aiding long-term community growth.
• Advanced women’s leadership and civic participation at a time when women had limited access to formal political power

Source and Image Credit: Courtesy of Garland County Historical Society. Sentinel-Record (multiple articles, including Feb. 19, 1961; Feb. 6, 1977). Picture is from the Feb. 6, 1977 article.  

Formed in the early 1960s, the Council of Hot Springs Federation of Women’s Clubs united eight to ten local women’s organizations to coordinate civic service, education, and cultural improvement. Led by the presidents of member clubs, the council planned joint projects and represented Hot Springs at the district, state, and national levels. Affiliated with the Arkansas Federation of Women’s Clubs (AFWC) and the General Federation of Women’s Clubs (GFWC), the council connected local women to broader reform networks and reinforced Hot Springs’ reputation as a center of organized women’s leadership. By 1961, Hot Springs was recognized as having more federated women’s clubs than any other city in Arkansas.

Hot Springs member clubs included the Century, Coterie, Fortnightly, Forum, Progressive, Sesame, Thinkers, Wakeusup, Demoiselle, and Criterion Clubs, many founded between 1895 and the 1930s. These long-standing civic institutions supported scholarships, libraries, schools, hospitals, conservation, arts programs, and charitable assistance, strengthening both local communities and statewide civic life.

Key Statewide Milestones of Arkansas Federation of Women’s Clubs

• Led the campaign to designate the Apple Blossom as Arkansas’s state flower (1901)
• Secured legislation allowing cities to levy taxes for public libraries (1903)
• General Federation of Women's Clubs 14th Biennial Convention was held in Hot Springs, Arkansas, in May 1918 
• Helped secure adoption of the Mockingbird as Arkansas’s official state bird (1929)
• Hosted a national General Federation of Women's Clubs convention in Hot Springs (1930), where delegates debated major social issues including old-age pensions, birth control, and the Equal Rights Amendment
• Advanced labor and social reforms, including the eight-hour workday, child labor laws, compulsory education, juvenile courts, public welfare systems, and women’s access to the legal profession
• Led historic preservation of the Old State House, secured funding for the Arkansas State Library Commission, launched The Arkansas Clubwoman, and helped found the University of Arkansas School of Nursing and the state medical center complex, now part of the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences
• Continued their legacy through major library investments, including more than $200,000 donated statewide between 1997 and 2000 through the Arkansas Promise initiative

Source: Garland County Historical Society; Encyclopedia of Arkansas, "General Federation of Women's Clubs of Arkansas (GFWC)" ; Sentinel-Record (multiple articles, including Feb. 19, 1961; Feb. 6, 1977); General Federation of Women’s Clubs correspondence, 1957  

Image Credit: General Federation of Women’s Clubs of Arkansas meeting, 1918. Photograph from the People Photograph Collection, courtesy of the Butler Center for Arkansas Studies, Central Arkansas Library System / Encyclopedia of Arkansas.