Women - Hunterdon County, New Jersey

KALMIA CLUB
Back in 1892 when 45 daughters of the genteel middle class got together and
formed a "Reading Circle" -- the last thought on their minds was the future. Their
purposes were much more immediate. The pragmatic ladies were seeking a break from
their day-to-day lives, a place to use their intellect, and most of all an opportunity to
gather with other like-minded women.
A year after it was formed, the Reading Circle changed its name to the Kalmia Club,
after the botanical name for the mountain laurel kalmia latifolia. That year it also
acquired its clubhouse at 39 York Street. The building, built in the mid-1800's as a
private school, was a gift to the newly formed club by the Quakers, who had used it as a
meeting house until membership dwindled and they moved across the river.
The Kalmia Club has met without interruption for over 100 years, making it the
oldest continuously running women's club in the state of New Jersey. Much has
changed since the club was formed more than a century ago. The afternoon teas have
given way to evening meetings where the women no longer dress up grandly in gloves
and hats. Gone also is the old-fashioned custom of restricting membership to a
particular social class. Today any woman is welcome to join Kalmia.
The club remains an active civic as well as literary organization. Through its
membership in the State Federation of Women's Clubs, it contributes to various
statewide activities. While keeping up with the times the club remains ever mindful of its
sisters in history and its place in the annals of the city of Lambertville.
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