Texas Federation of Women's Clubs
| Abbreviation | TFWC |
|---|---|
| Motto | "In small things liberty, in large things unity, in all things charity." |
| Founded at | Waco, Texas |
| Type | Non-governmental organization |
| Purpose | volunteerism |
| Affiliations | General Federation of Women's Clubs |
The Texas Federation of Women's Clubs (TFWC) is a non-profit women's organization in Texas which was founded in 1897. The purpose of the group is to create a central organization for women's clubs and their members in Texas relating to education, the environment, home and civic life, the arts and Texas history. Seventy-percent of public libraries in Texas were created through the work of the members and clubs of the TFWC.
The TFWC had its origins with local women's clubs throughout the state of Texas. Many of these clubs were organized for "self-culture and intellectual development." Over time the idea that local clubs would benefit by sharing and communicating with other clubs in the state grew among various club members. In 1894, a Woman's Congress was held at the Texas State Fair in Dallas. The ideas and networking opportunities for many different women's club members from across Texas helped shape the TFWC. As early as 1895, the Wednesday Club of Fort Worth put forth idea to create a federation of women's clubs. However, it was Mrs. Edward Rotan (Kate Sturm McCall Rotan) in Waco who finally reached out by letter to invite various clubs to send representatives in order to create the TFWC. The TFWC first organized under the name of the Texas Federation of Literary Clubs in 1897. Rotan was voted the first president of the TFWC.Olga Bernstein Kohlberg was the first vice-president.
The twenty-one original charter clubs of TFWC were the American History Club and the Pathfinder's Club of Austin, the Magazine Club of Cleburne, XIX Century Club of Corsicana, several clubs from Dallas, including the Current Events Club, the Pierian Club, the Shakespeare Club and the Standard Club, the Ariel Literary Society of Denton, The Women's Wednesday Club and the '93 Club of Fort Worth, The Wednesday Club of Galveston, the Women's Club and the Ladies' Reading Club of Houston, the Owl Club of McKinney, the Shakespeare Club of Sherman, the Quid Nunc Club of Tyler, the Social Science Club of Terrell, the Literary and the Woman's Club of Waco and the XXI Club of Denison. The TFWC limited club membership to groups who were recommended by two other clubs already in the TFWC and most members were white and middle or upper class. In 1899, they joined the General Federation of Women's Clubs and changed their name to the Texas Federation of Women's Clubs. TFWC organized itself into five districts, and in 1901, there were 132 clubs involved.
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