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The
Club History
Organization
History
Once upon a time, when Acton was a sleepy farm town, 20 women
gathered to form a social society. They began to meet in private homes,
the year was 1912. By 1915, the growing Acton Woman’s Club formally
declared its purpose, “to promote friendship among Acton women, to promote culture and
to encourage all movements for the betterment of society.”
After meeting in the vestry of the Congregational Church, the women
voted to buy the “Community House” which became their headquarters for
five years.
Known originally as “The Chapel” the Woman’s Club building was first
the meeting house of orthodox members of the Congregational Church.
Sold in 1839, “The Chapel” became a two family home, retaining that
status until purchased by the Woman’s Club many decades later.
In 1922 the present home of the Acton Woman’s Club came on the market.
Despite its disrepair, the membership voted to
purchase and personally renovate the elegant building. Extensive
renovations including a kitchen addition had to be completed by the
members and their families. The house finally opened its doors on May
17, 1924. Sixteen years of fundraising followed until the mortgage was
ceremonially burned in 1940.
The club is well known for diverse social and philanthropic activities.
The club sponsors young people’s ballroom dance classes and awards a
college scholarship to a deserving Acton-Boxborough Regional
High School
graduate.
The membership also sponsors fundraisers to maintain the historic
clubhouse, now Acton’s
only surviving Federal Period building and listed in the National
Register of Historic Preservation.
“The Mabel Jenks Garden”
In the spring of 1973, Mr. Albert Jenks donated funds to landscape the
grounds of the Acton Woman’s Club, in memory of his beloved wife,
Mabel. The Acton Garden Club designed and executed this herb and rose garden, planted in the style of the second
quarter of the 19th century American town garden.
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