The Waterville Area Women’s Club has its roots within the Waterville Woman’s Association, which was formed in 1887. During this time of industrial growth in Waterville, Maine, young women, some only in their teens, came to the area with hopes of finding employment. Some worked at the Hathaway shirt factory or one of the textile mills, while others found work as domestics.
They came from rural towns, Canadian villages, and immigrant families, especially Lebanese. Many arrived alone, spoke little English, and found it difficult to adapt to “city life.” Local townspeople provided rooms to rent, but there were no other support services available.
Waterville native Sarah Ware, concerned about her community and the needs of these working women, invited a group of friends to her home to discuss what they could do to improve the situation. These ladies became the “Founding Mothers” of the Waterville Woman’s Association.
The association ladies wasted no time. Within a year they had rented two rooms on the second floor of the building on the corner of Waterville’s Main and Temple Streets, and member volunteers were offering classes in English, financial management, sewing, and other work-related skills. The rooms were available daily to any woman who wished to rest, refresh, or use the only public restroom available to women in the city.
In the years that followed, the Waterville Woman’s Association started a thrift store in its space. The goal was to help struggling families. Members donated clothing, household items, and handmade goods, which were sold at a nominal charge. If a family could not afford to pay, they were given what they needed. The thrift store would continue to operate until the late 1970s.
In 1893, a group of Waterville Woman’s Association members, empowered by what they were able to do for others, became interested in developing their own potential. In addition to community service, these ladies wanted to learn more about art, literature, music, and current events and formed the Women’s Literary Guild. In addition to their work as association members, these ladies began to research topics of interest and present their “papers” to fellow members at monthly meetings. In the early 1900s, the Literary Guild parted ways with the Waterville Woman’s Association and became known as the Waterville Woman’s Club. Our name was more recently changed to the Waterville Area Women’s Club to reflect the geographic reach of our membership and community involvement.
The members of the Waterville Woman’s Club started Waterville’s first public library and were responsible for applying for the Carnegie Grant to build the present-day Waterville Public Library. They founded a home for aging women, which is today’s Sunset Home of Waterville. Club women also raised funds to create the first public playground in Waterville. It was located on the Colby campus when the college was on College Avenue.
Now, more than 130 years later, the club’s mission is much the same. Although the club no longer provides direct services for women and children, we work to support agencies in the Greater Waterville Area who respond to those in need. We still meet in members’ homes, educate ourselves about our community, enjoy the fellowship of other women, and adapt to our ever-changing world.
—by Gretchen Roy, WAWC historian
Waterville Area Women's Club 