Club History
For 100 years, the Woman’s Club of Gadsden has been leading the way in civic and cultural activities. With its very beginning in 1923, founder Charlotte Chrisman Cox, wanted more than just a social organization.
Into its constitution were written “The objectives of being literary, scientific, and philanthropic for the advancement of womanhood and to have a representative organization ready at all times to take action on any progressive course that vitally affects the community.”
In 1937, the Gadsden City Commission appointed a group of four men and five members of the Woman’s Club to design the city flag. The design they chose carries the city seal on a gold background bordered with green. This flag was officially adopted by the city on August 3, 1937.
In 1946, a drive was launched by members of the Woman’s Club to encourage the City of Gadsden to buy Noccalula Falls and the adjoining 169 acres of land from the estate of the late Colonel R. A. Mitchell. The land had been bought by Colonel Mitchell and held in trust to be turned over to the City of Gadsden to be used as a park.
In 1954, realizing the need for a centrally located home for cultural and civic-minded women, the Woman’s Club purchased the beautiful colonial home of Colonel and Mrs. O. R. Hood on Chestnut Steet. The house was paid for in full on April 17, 1967. In the spring of 1968, the Whorton property adjacent to the Club became available and was purchased. The house was paid in full in 1974.
During the years of 1968-1969, the Woman’s Club sponsored a drive to raise funds to place a nine-foot bronze statue at Noccalula Falls. This statue of Princess Noccalula, the work of the late Dr. Suzanne Silvercruys, was dedicated on September 21, 1969. The Woman’s Club owns a copyright on this statue. The Gadsden Woman’s Club is proud to be in the National Registry of Historical Places and in the State of Alabama Register of Historical Landmarks.
