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HISTORY
Of The
FLORIDA FEDERATION OF WOMEN'S CLUBS
1895-1960
By
Mabel Meadows Staats

The motto, "In great things, Unity; in small things, Liberty; in all things,
Charity" which was chosen at the organization of the Florida Federation of
Women's Clubs in 1895 has been the guiding principle of the organization in
the 79 years of its' progress.

In an era when vast stretches of palmetto scrub and pine woods separated
communities, which often were reached only by sandy, twisting roads, it was
remarkable that women's groups should look so many years ahead of their time
and surroundings and begin to plan for measures in education, weldate, con-
servation and the arts which 79 years later would place the women of the
state in the forefront in progress in community service.

Stirrings of community interest among Florida women were evident in the
number of groups formed prior to and during 1900. Eighteen women's organ-
izations were active with the Village Improvement Association of Green Cove
Springs, Clay county, leading the way February 21, 1883. Eight years later
the Village Improvement Association of Ormond Beach and the Housekeepers
Club of Coconut Grove were formed in 1891. The latter, which joined the
General Federation of Women's Clubs that same year, was the first Florida
Women's Club to do so.

Shortly afterward, a number of women's clubs came into existence; among them
Tarpon Springs Woman's Club, 1892; Orlando Sorosis Club, Melrose Woman's
Club, 1893; Palmetto Woman's Club of Daytona Beach, Village Improvement
Association of Orange City, 1894; Fairfield Township Improvement Association,
Crescent City Womans' Club, 1895; Philaco Woman's Club of Apalachicola,
Woman's Club of Cocoa, 1896; Woman's Club of Jacksonville, Woman's Club of
Palatka, 1897; High Springs New Century Club, 1899. In 1900 Titusville Wo-
man's Club, Tampa Woman's Club and Miami Woman's Club were organized.

The woman who implemented the formation of the Florida Federation of Women's
Clubs was Mrs. E. G. G. Munsell, who came from New York to Green Cove Springs
in 1887 with an invalid husband. Left a widow soon afterward, she entered
into civic affairs. By her enthusiasm and practicality she aroused interest
in town improvements and revived the dormant Village Civic Association.

Miss Penelope Borden, later Mrs. P. A. Borden Hamilton, was persuaded to head
the reactivated association and to invite members of other organizations to
attend a meeting February 21, 1895. Nineteen members from five clubs; Fair-
field, Crescent City, Tarpon Springs, Orange City and Green Cove Springs,
met with the committee, composed of Mrs. Munsell, Mrs. Burrows, Mrs. Leon
and Mrs. Grove, which organized the Florida Federation. Miss Penelope Bor-
den was elected the first President, Mrs. Tibbetts, First Vice President, Mrs.
N. C. Walmboldt, Second Vice President. Mrs. Munsell refused the presidency
many times, always preferring to serve in lesser ways. It was while she was
State Chairman of Education several years later that the Federation Kinder-
garten School was established. Her constant efforts to build an organization
which would enable the women to serve their communities and the state of
Florida earned her the name of "Mother of the Federation".