West Virginia Federation of Business and Professional Women's Clubs, Inc. Records
Collection
Collection Number: A&M 2854
This collection contains records of the West Virginia Federation of Business and Professional Women’s Clubs (BPW), a woman’s organization that sought to promote equality for women in the workplace. While many local chapters are represented in this collection, the bulk of materials relate to the state, Clarksburg, Lewisburg, Morgantown, and Parkersburg chapters. Materials include historical narratives, activity records, photographs, scrapbooks, yearbooks, directories, and correspondence.
This collection is divided into two series with various sub-series.
Series 1. Statewide and District Chapters
Sub-Series 1. Administration and Activity
Sub-Series 2. Leadership
Series 2. Local Chapters
Sub-Series 1. Ansted
Sub-Series 2. Beckley
Sub-Series 3. Belle
Sub-Series 4. Braxton
Sub-Series 5. Buckhannon
Sub-Series 6. Charleston
Sub-Series 7. Chester
Sub-Series 8. Clay
Sub-Series 9. Clarksburg
Sub-Series 10. Elkins
Sub-Series 11. Fairmont
Sub-Series 12. Fayetteville
Sub-Series 13. Franklin
Sub-Series 14. Grafton
Sub-Series 15. Greenbrier
Sub-Series 16. Harrisville
Sub-Series 17. Hinton
Sub-Series 18. Huntington
Sub-Series 19. Keyser
Sub-Series 20. Kingwood
Sub-Series 21. Lewisburg
Sub-Series 22. Logan
Sub-Series 23. Morgantown
Sub-Series 24. Mullins
Sub-Series 25. Oak Hill
Sub-Series 26. Panhandle
Sub-Series 27. Parkersburg
Sub-Series 28. Petersburg
Sub-Series 29. Philippi
Sub-Series 30. Prima
Sub-Series 31. Rainelle
Sub-Series 32. Raleigh
Sub-Series 33. Ravenswood
Sub-Series 34. Richwood
Sub-Series 35. Ronceverte
Sub-Series 36. Rowlesburg
Sub-Series 37. Saint Marys
Sub-Series 38. Salem
Sub-Series 39. Spencer
Sub-Series 40. Summersville
Sub-Series 41. Tri-City
Sub-Series 42. Vienna
Sub-Series 43. Weirton
Sub-Series 44. Wellsburg
Sub-Series 45. West Union
Sub-Series 46. Weston
Sub-Series 47. Wheeling
Sub-Series 48. Whitesville
No special access restriction applies.
Permission to publish or reproduce is required from the copyright holder. For more information, please see the Permissions and Copyright page on the West Virginia and Regional History Center website.
The West Virginia Federation of Business and Professional Women’s Clubs was formed in 1921 by Lena Madesin Phillips of Kentucky, who in 1919 had formed the National Federation of Business and Professional Women’s Clubs for the purpose of promoting equality for all women in the workplace. The charter members of the WV state chapter included Charleston, Huntington, Bluefield, Wheeling, Fairmont, Parkersburg, Beckley, and Clarksburg, with Virginia Foulk of Huntington chosen as the first state president. A clubhouse was purchased at 1111 Virginia Street in Charleston, WV.
In 1944, the state chapter opted to organize the local chapters into four districts, which in 1951 would be expanded into seven districts. District one consisted of Weirton and Wheeling; District two consisted of Fairmont, Kingwood, Keyser, and Morgantown; District three consisted of Buckhannon, Elkins, Petersburg, and Philippi; District four consisted of Clarksburg, Harrisville, Parkersburg, Salem, and Spencer; District five consisted of Lewisburg, Marlington, Quinwood, and Ronceverte; District six consisted of Beckley, Hinton, Oak Hill, and Mullins; and District seven consisted of Belle, Charleston, Clay, and Huntington.
The state and local chapters remained an active presence in their respective communities throughout the 20th century, with projects seeking to engage women in their professional, civic, and social lives. Of particular interest was their support of the West Virginia Jury Service for Women Amendment, which passed in 1956; the Equal Pay Act of 1963; and the Equal Rights Amendment, which was ratified in West Virginia in 1972.
Waning membership into the 21st century led to the closure of the National Federation of Business and Professional Women’s Clubs, which was soon followed by the West Virginia chapter in the 2000s.
20.8 Linear Feet (13 document cases, 5 in. each; 9 record cartons, 15 in. each; 8 flat storage boxes, 3 in. each; 1 document case, 2.5 in; 1flat storage box, 5 in.; 1 flat storage box, 1.5 in.; 1 record carton, 17 in. )
English
The West Virginia Federation of Business and Professional Women’s Clubs (BPW) was a women’s organization in West Virginia founded in the early 1920s that was composed of working and professional women. This collection contains the records of the state chapter and various local chapters within West Virginia.
West Virginia and Regional History Center / West Virginia University / 1549 University Avenue / P.O. Box 6069 / Morgantown, WV 26506-6069 / Phone: 304-293-3536 / URL: West Virginia & Regional History Center
Gifts of WVBPW via Dadisman, Mary S., 1982-2004
Purchase from Trans Allegheny Books, 2004 July 14
Gift of Fleischauer, Barbara, 2022 December 16
Part of the West Virginia and Regional History Center Repository