As the Sonoma Valley Woman’s Club building tiptoes up to its 100th birthday, it has already received a grand gift – the club’s 1916 home has been placed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Bringing the honor to 574 First St. E. was a process that took more than two years, spearheaded by club historian Jean Miller. The building had to first be approved by the California Office of Historic Preservation, which then nominated the building for national recognition.
“It’s not good enough to just be old,” club president Yvonne Bowers said. “You have to build a case for why it is not just old but significant.”
The building was accepted on the basis of several criteria. Among those is that it was designed by noted architect Brainerd Jones and has been continually occupied by the club. It has retained its integrity of location, design, setting and feeling. It is basically unchanged from when it was built, with the exception of aluminum siding that was attached in 1963.
Perhaps the more important criterion is the building’s acceptance on the basis of social and woman’s history. This recognizes that the Woman’s Club was “integral and critical in the civic development of the town of Sonoma.”
The club was established in 1901, when 11 women got together and sent postcards to every woman in Sonoma, inviting them to join. Dues were $1 a year.
The club’s purpose was to promote the social and literary interests of the community and for civic improvement. Sixty-three women joined, and their first project was spiffing up the Plaza. They raised funds to plant trees and grass, put in gravel paths and a fountain. The women also convinced the city trustees to pass an ordinance banning cows and livestock from wandering through the center of town.
The club was also responsible for Sonoma’s first library and the initial restoration of Mission Sonoma. The women put on balls, held card parties, doll shows and other events to raise funds, all of which went to the betterment of the town. Accomplishing an amazing amount of improvements during its first 10 years, in 1911 it was decided the club needed to do something for its own benefit and started fundraising for its own clubhouse.
Fundraisers included the first Valley of the Moon Festival on Fourth of July weekend 1913, raising $222.64. The ladies also put on a luncheon at the Bear Flag Celebration in 1914, and “rented out rooms to out-of-town strangers,” visiting for the event. By the end of 1914 they had $800, and by early 1916, $1,200 had been raised.
The Woman’s Club secured a $2,500 loan from the Native Sons of the Golden West, club member Katherine Poppe sold the club land adjacent to her home on First Street East at a bargain price and Jones’s building plans were approved. A. E. Warriner submitted a bid to build the club for $3,859 with a maple floor and $3,694 with a pine floor. The women voted for the maple floor and construction began.
When the clubhouse opened in September 1916 the women held a soiree, and a front-page story in the Sonoma Index-Tribune said that reviewing the “never-to-be-forgotten night is beyond the power of a humble pen.”
This new honor adds momentum to the club’s long history. “We are very, very proud of it,” Miller said. “It’s a beautiful building and a wonderful example of the Craftsman style.”
The application for recognition is 70 pages long, and includes minute details and many measurements. The club hoped to secure the historic designation on its own, but although Miller and her sister Jo Miller spent countless hours doing research, they brought in a professional architectural historian, Diana Painter, to help complete the process.
The main floor of the clubhouse has an auditorium with a stage, a parlor with a fireplace, a small kitchen (no dishwasher) and restroom. Up a flight of stairs (that creak only a little bit) is a half floor with a sitting room and an enclosed gallery. This attic-like room holds the club’s history, including archival boxes filled with scrapbooks that contain minutes of meetings, event programs and numerous newspaper clippings.
The Woman’s Club is still active and currently has 85 members, 10 of whom are more than 90 years old. They meet once a month and still hold fundraisers for good causes and scholarships. The building is available to rent, which helps with the expenses.
“It takes so much to maintain it,” Bowers said. The club is a nonprofit organization, but is trying to gain 501(c) 3 tax status so it will be eligible for more grants and contributions. Being listed on the national historic registry will help toward getting the tax status changed.
“We helped make the town what it is today and we are still doing that,” Bowers said.
Those interested in joining the club or who would like a tour of the building may contact her at yvonnebowers@mac.com.
‘It’s not good enough to just be old.’
- Yvonne Bowers
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