Joel & Johanna
The Venue
Women's Federation Clubs
Role in Society
The Women's Club movement invited both suffragists and anti-suffragists to participate however it encouraged women's engagement in civic life. "The club movement, in it’s early days a literary movement, is fast becoming a great civic force; and the club is very rare indeed to-day in which the subject of civic betterment is not discussed…The women of the country are studying civic conditions everywhere. Civic beauty, civic cleanliness, civic sanitation, civic government, civic welfare, - these are subjects common to the life of every club where will it be possible to find an equal number of men who have already the full rights and privileges of suffrage, with whom these subjects are topics for almost daily thought, discussion, and study” Mary I Wood (From THE HISTORY OF THE GENERAL FEDERATION OF WOMEN'S CLUBS 1912)
Mesa Women's Club Founding
A Legacy of Service, Learning & Women’s Empowerment
Founded on March 9, 1917, by 53 visionary women, the Woman’s Club of Mesa was part of the broader Arizona Federation of Governmental Women’s Clubs that began in 1901. Their motto—“In media res” (“in the midst of things”)—spoke to their commitment to civic involvement, education, and community service. Early on, members organized social gatherings, educational speakers, literacy efforts, park beautification, and scholarships, all while advancing municipal improvements in Mesa.
Saving the Mesa Hospital
Supporting Mesa’s First Hospital & Health Initiatives
When Mesa’s first hospital faced financial collapse in 1923 due to a cotton price crash, the club intervened. They helped pay off the hospital’s debt and ensured its survival. Members continued to support healthcare by hosting weekly “hospital sew days,” turning the clubhouse into a hub for making medical supplies like bandages and linens.
A Club Building
October 30 1931 the Women's Club Building Opens!
Determined to create a lasting home, the Women's Club fund‑raised beginning in 1918—through card parties, luncheons, plays, and civic events. In June 1931, ground was broken on the Spanish Colonial Revival clubhouse at 200 N Macdonald, designed by Henry C. Grote and built by Joseph Nesbitt for just over $10,500. The building, with its iconic turret and terra‑cotta tile roof, was formally in use by October of that year Architecturally preserved with many original features—Roman‑arched windows, hardwood flooring, a stage and hall, and a turret entrance—the structure is recognized on the National Register of Historic Places (listed August 1991) .
Civic Service thru the Decades
-
Over the ensuing decades, the club’s membership—growing to more than 150 by the 1950s—continued welcoming women from many walks of life and economic backgrounds. They hosted arts and musical groups, Rotary Club meals, community meetings, church gatherings, dances, and more. The “Juniors” group, for younger members, met during the evenings to include working women in civic life.
Guild of the Vale
From Women's Club to Event Venue
In 1990, as the original club became inactive, the building was entrusted to the General Federation of Women’s Clubs of Arizona. It later became the Guild of the Vale, an event venue that continues the legacy of community connection and gathering. Now, as a charming “castle” in downtown Mesa, it serves as a gathering place for weddings, classes, parties, concerts, and cultural events—all in a space born from women’s service and activism