The Corvallis Woman’s Club was founded in May 1883. The mission of the Woman’s Club was to provide women opportunities outside of the home. The Club’s first activity was to serve coffee to Corvallis firefighters after they had doused a blaze—as an alternative to drinking beer in a tavern. The Woman’s Club heartily supported the library, providing the property on which the library was built, and steadily donating books as memorials to past members.
The original clubhouse was torn down when the library was expanded in 1989. The club also played a major role in the establishment of Central Park through lobbying the city council, who had planned to turn the spot into another parking lot. In fact, members earned a reputation among city officials for raising a ruckus—and for making things happen.
After 111 years of meeting, organizing, and working for the good of the community, the Corvallis Woman’s Club disbanded in the fall of 1994, leaving about $35,000 to twenty-nine different local charities. Before disbanding, the Club established a fund with BCF to be used for scholarships for junior or senior women attending an accredited institution of higher education. “The idea was to help a woman in Benton County with her education once she reached the junior/senior level,” said outgoing president Judy Juntunen, who was active in the Club for ten years.