DUANE
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Duane's take
Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'll do my best to do it justice. Back in 1893, in Georgetown, Texas, a woman named Lula Holland Leavell opened her home. She and her daughters, Blanche and Kate, hosted a literary reading for a group of local women.
Now, you might think that's a modest enough beginning. A parlor, some books, some curious minds. But pay attention, because modest beginnings have a way of becoming something else entirely.
That same year, the group that gathered decided they weren't done. They formed a women's literary club right then and there. Lula Holland Leavell, born in 1854, would not live to see what came next.
She passed in 1895. But the thing she helped start, that kept going. By 1897 the club had a name, the Initial History Club, and it had grown bigger in its ambitions too.
Literature was still on the table, but now so were history, music, and a stake in Georgetown's cultural affairs. These women weren't just reading anymore. They were shaping a community.
Then came 1917, and the club merged with two other local women's clubs to form something larger still, the Woman's Club of Georgetown. Three clubs, one voice, one purpose. And that club, born from a single literary reading in a Georgetown home, continues to this day, carrying on civic enrichment, outreach programs, and the promotion of the arts.
What started in a parlor is still in the room.
What the marker says
In 1893 Lula Holland Leavell (1854-1895) and her daughters, Blanche and Kate, hosted a literary reading for a group of Georgetown women. That year the group formed a women's literary club. In 1897 the club was named the "Initial History Club" and its scope was expanded to include literature, history, music, and participation in Georgetown's cultural affairs. They merged with two other local women's clubs in 1917 to form the Woman's Club of Georgetown. The club continues a rich tradition of civic enrichment with various outreach programs and the promotion of the arts. (1995)