Central Business District in Kalamazoo in Kalamazoo County, Michigan — The American Midwest (Great Lakes)

First Women's Club in Michigan

Photographed By J.T. Lambrou, January 12, 2022

1. First Women's Club in Michigan Marker

Inscription.
This building, completed in 1879, is the first in the nation erected for the use of a women’s club. The Ladies’ Library Association, organized in January, 1852, grew out of a reading club started in 1844. It was the first women’s club in Michigan and the third in the United States. Mrs. Lucinda H. Stone, who is known as the “Mother of Women’s Clubs,” helped to found this club. The Association has had a continuous existence from its organization.

Erected by Michigan Historical Commission. (Marker Number 221.)

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Education • Fraternal or Sororal Organizations • Women. In addition, it is included in the Michigan Historical Commission series list. A significant historical month for this entry is January 1852.

Location. 42° 17.348′ N, 85° 35.219′ W. Marker is in Kalamazoo, Michigan, in Kalamazoo County. It is in the Central Business District. Marker can be reached from S. Park Street (State Highway 331) north of W. Lovell Street, on the right when traveling north. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 333 S Park St, Kalamazoo MI 49007, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. Kirk Newman Sculpture (within shouting distance of this marker); Lincoln at Kalamazoo (about 300

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feet away, measured in a direct line); Kalamazoo Bicentennial Memorial (about 400 feet away); First United Methodist Church (about 400 feet away); Lincoln's August 1856 Speech in Kalamazoo (about 600 feet away); The Heart of a New Town (about 600 feet away); Presented To The City Of Kalamazoo (about 600 feet away); U.S. Ten Inch Columbiad (about 600 feet away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Kalamazoo.

Also see . . .
1. Ladies' Library Association - Our History. Association website entry (Submitted on June 16, 2014.)

2. Ladies Library Association Building. Excerpt:

The Ladies Library Association Building is a two-story red brick building, the original section of which is 30 feet by 60 feet with an attached tower with a footprint of 14 feet by 18 feet. A two-story kitchen wing was later added on the rear of the tower.[5] It is built in the Venetian Gothic Revival style. The building has a slate roof, sits on a granite foundation, and light-colored cut stone trim is used throughout the exterior. Architectural details include ornamental ironwork,
Photographed By Duane Hall, May 30, 2014

2. Entrance to Ladies' Library Association
decorative tiles, and stained glass windows.

(Submitted on December 26, 2022, by J.T. Lambrou of New Boston, Michigan.)

Ladies' Library Association Building image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Duane Hall, May 30, 2014

3. Ladies' Library Association Building

<i>Ladies Library, Kalamazoo, Mich.</i> image. Click for full size.

circa 1910

4. Ladies Library, Kalamazoo, Mich.

Credits. This page was last revised on August 6, 2023. It was originally submitted on June 16, 2014, by Duane Hall of Abilene, Texas. This page has been viewed 508 times since then and 13 times this year. Photos: 1. submitted on October 20, 2022, by J.T. Lambrou of New Boston, Michigan. 2, 3. submitted on June 16, 2014, by Duane Hall of Abilene, Texas. 4. submitted on November 11, 2014.