Livermore Woman's Club

The Livermore Woman's Club is a not-for-profit organization founded in 1896 when Mrs. Lucinda Peters invited the ranching women of Livermore, Colorado, to an afternoon tea at Eagle Cliff Cottage on the 27th of August. More than thirty women accepted the invitation and arrived at the appointed time via buckboards, wagons, buggies, and on horseback. Thus began the history of the Livermore Woman's Club and thus began the intimate link between the history of Livermore, the history of its ranches, and the history of the Club, a link that has endured for more than 100 years.

Conversation was lively on that beautiful summer afternoon and it quickly became apparent that those in attendance were very enthusiastic about forming a club that would inspire members to "higher and nobler thoughts".

The first formal meeting of the Club was the following month at the home of Mrs. Helen Gilpin-Brown. Officers were elected, and discussions were begun with regard to establishing a constitution and bylaws, a task that proved to be more difficult than officers had initially assumed. A program committee was formed and chose a topic--the history of the United States--to be discussed at subsequent meetings. Members were so enthusiastic about the Club that they decided to meet every two weeks.

One weighty matter that had to be addressed early in the Club's first year was whether to allow the woman who hosted a meeting to serve as many kinds of refreshments as she wanted or to limit her to three items. A vote was taken, and members agreed that no more than three kinds of refreshments should be offered. If this rule were violated, the Club member was to be fined $1.00, ten times the annual dues of 10 cents! Were the Club to impose a fine of similar magnitude today, the fine would be $100.00! Apparently, however, the rule was ignored, and Club members usually were served ten to forty kinds of refreshments.

Early programs included "Early Indian Wars", "Peter Stuyvesant and the Dutch Settlements", and "History of Colorado" and accounts of life in the early 1870's in the Livermore community. Initially, members were timid about expressing opinions on intellectural matters, and the informative papers presented did not elicit the lively discussion that had been expected. However, the timidity soon was overcome and meetings often became rather animated and even noisy.

The History of The Livermore Woman's Club