The history of the Rochester Women’s Club

Dec 6, 2021

In a week when the Rochester Historical Commission donated a plaque to the Rochester Women’s Club to commemorate its historic club house, Connie Eshbach of the Rochester Historical Society decided to share an overview of the club’s history with the public.

The Rochester Women's Club on Marion Road was organized in 1928 and incorporated in 1932.

When it first started, it was an auxiliary of the Men's Club and the meetings were held in their building. The group later ended that connection.

At that time, they moved their meetings to the vestry of the First Congregational Church in Rochester Center. The club attracted members and soon was in danger of outgrowing that space. With no suitable quarters to be found, the decision was made to build a clubhouse.

The land where the Women's Club is today was bought in 1932 from Mrs. Arthur C. Kirby and work was quickly begun. To help with costs the members' husbands dug the cellar hole; boarded in the frame; and shingled the building.

In order to pay the mortgage and to improve the building, the members fundraised through card parties, clambakes, and chicken dinners. For many years they sold calendars with local information.

In 1934, they joined the State Federation of Women's Clubs and in 1935, the General Federation. By 1944, they had 70 members, not only from Rochester, but also from Marion, Mattapoisett, Fairhaven, New Bedford, and Fall River.

The club and its building became an important part of the community, providing space for the Girl Scouts, the Rochester Feather and Fin Club, the Red Cross and other WW II related organizations, and even letting the town boys use the large hall to play basketball against teams from out of town.

Mrs. Greenwood Hartley organized the club and was its first president and continued in that role for 15 yrs. Because of this, she had the honor of setting fire to the mortgage document at the Club's mortgage burning celebration when it was paid in full by December of 1944. The celebration also included a chicken luncheon served to the 40 members who attended. Money was also donated to a scholarship fund. Today's Womens' Club continues the tradition of providing scholarships, funded in part by the sale of Christmas wreaths.