Federated Women's Clubs of Port Arthur

The Port Arthur clubwomen's headquarters of 1924 was designed by Charles L. Wignall, a Port Arthur architect, and built by J. H. Baxter. The National Register nomination, as summarized on Wikipedia, calls it one of the most pretentiously designed Bungaloid structures in town. It stands in Lakeshore Park, once the most fashionable part of the city, and is a Craftsman-style bungalow. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on July 18, 1985, and is also known as the Department Clubhouse.

What the plaque says

Federated Women's Clubs of Port Arthur The Federated Women's Clubs of Port Arthur is a league of sixteen individual clubs which represent a variety of interests and public service projects. Together, through the organization, they combine their efforts for the betterment of the community. The Federation developed from the Women's Self-improvement Club which was organized with nine charter members in February 1898 at the home of Mrs. W. D. Park. It was originally a literary club, but social services were soon added. In 1910 members interested in music started the Symphony Club. The following year they were joined by the Reading Club in the formation of a department club. In 1914 the Young Women's Culture Club and the Women's Self-Improvement Club joined the organization. Meetings were held in homes until 1915 when the club moved to the Elks' Theater building. After a 1923 fire destroyed clubrooms and furnishings, members began planning for a separate clubhouse at this site, which was completed the following year. Renamed in 1977, the Federated Women's Clubs of Port Arthur has made significant contributions to the city through sponsorship of such programs as civic activities, scholarships, and historic preservation. (1981)

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Museum of the Gulf Coast — 0.9 mi
  Port Arthur's regional museum in a former bank building: fossils, Native Americans, the petroleum story, a 125-foot history mural and Halls of Fame for musicians, athletes and artists.
• Sabine Pass Battleground State Historic Site — 11 mi
  A waterfront park at the mouth of the Sabine where the earthwork of Fort Griffin stood, with a Dowling statue, a Union memorial, wartime magazines and a walkway for fishing.
• Spindletop-Gladys City Boomtown Museum — 14 mi
  A re-created oil boomtown on the Lamar University campus, with a derrick, period shops, a 1941 granite monument and an optional re-enactment of the January 1901 Lucas gusher.
• Sea Rim State Park — 14 mi
  Texas's far southeast corner: nearly two miles of Gulf shoreline backed by 4,000 acres of marsh, reached by boardwalk or paddle trail, rebuilt after Rita and Ike.

More markers nearby

• Pompeiian Villa — steps away
• Port Arthur College — 0.3 mi
• Gates Memorial Library — 0.3 mi
• Arthur Edward Stilwell — 0.4 mi