The Clubhouse, The Woman's Club of Beaumont

The club behind the 1909 clubhouse began on January 18, 1895, at the home of Mrs. Hal W. Greer. About four years later it became the Women's Reading Club and joined the Texas Federation of Woman's Clubs, founded in 1897. The state chartered it in 1905, and in 1927 it took back the name Woman's Club of Beaumont. The Classical Revival building, designed by C. C. McDonald, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on August 16, 1994.

What the plaque says

The Clubhouse, The Woman's Club of Beaumont Early meetings of the Woman's Reading Club, now the Woman's Club of Beaumont, were conducted in area homes, churches, and public buildings until 1909, when this two-story frame clubhouse was built. Constructed during the presidencies of Mrs. John B. Goodhue and Mrs. J. L. Cunningham, it was designed by C. C. McDonald. T. W. Thomas served as the contractor. Because of the club's interest in promoting the development of area libraries, interior space was provided for cultural collections. An auditorium and stage were also included. One of the earliest meetings halls in the area, it was shared with a variety of community groups. The first civic function here was the 1909 banquet of the Oil Producers Association. Interior furnishings include four grand pianos for use by the club's piano ensemble, organized in 1932. During World Wars I and II, the clubhouse was used for Red Cross activities. Members contributed to the war effort by making bandages and by conducting collection drives for supplies. The building has also been used for Civil Defense classes and as a relief shelter for victims of area disasters. (1981)

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• McFaddin-Ward House — 0.6 mi
  A Beaux-Arts Colonial Revival mansion finished in 1906 and lived in by one family for 75 years, with free guided tours of three furnished floors, the carriage house and gardens.
• Spindletop-Gladys City Boomtown Museum — 4.0 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.
• Village Creek State Park — 12 mi
  A 2,466-acre state park on one of the few free-flowing creeks in Texas, with a launch for the Village Creek Paddling Trail, boat rentals and sandy-upland trails in the Big Thicket.
• Museum of the Gulf Coast — 18 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.

More markers nearby

• Congregation Temple Emanuel — steps away
• First United Methodist Church of Beaumont — steps away
• Beaumont Enterprise — 0.3 mi
• First Security National Bank — 0.4 mi