For a town once known as “Six-Shooter Junction” and infamous for its wild and rowdy ways, Waco was an unlikely choice to become a cultural and educational center. That it happened at all was due in great part to the influence of a host of fiercely independent and influential women and their organizations.
In October 2025, the Waco Federation of Women’s Clubs celebrates 100 years in their beloved Waco Federation House at 2900 Bosque — which quite possibly has been the site of the most programs, recitals, concerts, teas, book reviews, piano lessons, readings, art exhibits, weddings and wedding receptions than any other single building in Waco history.
Dr. Kenneth Hafertepe’s definitive “Historic Homes of Waco” books record that the Clement-Potts home at 2900 Bosque Boulevard and North 29th Street was originally built by architect Birch D. Easterwood for Benjamin and Ethel Clement in 1923-1925. At the time, Benjamin was the president of Clement Grain Company in East Waco. The new Tudor Revival house featured a host of handsome features, most notably an “elegant Colonial Revival staircase,” which has been the backdrop of generations of Waco wedding photographs. The house also featured one of the first basement “Kernerators,” a household incinerator.
However, like most of America, the Clement Grain Company suffered greatly in the Great Depression and by 1930 the family had moved to a smaller home at 524 North 15th.
Hafertepe writes that later that year the house became the home of R.J. Potts and his family. Potts was the president of the Central Texas Farm Products, Potts-Moore Gravel Service and co-owner of Potts & Prentice General Contractors. But the Potts family only remained there until 1940, when they moved to 1906 Austin Avenue. After World War II, the house went through several owners and multiple alterations.
Enter the Waco Federation of Women’s Clubs (WFWC).
Fortunately, the history — and often extraordinary accomplishments — of this organization has been preserved in “History of the Waco Federation of Women’s Clubs, 1898-1963” by Mary Clayton, “Waco Federation of Women’s Clubs: 1898-1998: One Hundred Years,” researched and compiled by Belva Harlow in 1998, and “Waco Federation of Women’s Clubs 1999-2024” by Patty Reneau.
Various women’s organizations existed in Waco long before 1898, of course, even in the face of extraordinary legal and cultural restrictions on what women could and couldn’t do. That meant, as Harlow writes in her introduction:
The women of the 1900s were seeking an outlet for their intellect, their energies, their abilities. The first clubs were purely social. No sooner did they join together than they realized Community Service was very close to their hearts. After the City Federation was organized, some of the clubs found they needed to change their priorities, even their names.
According to Harlow, on March 31, 1898, Mrs. W.L. Radney, the president of the powerful Press Club, invited Waco’s women’s organizations to form a federation. Four clubs responded: the Euterpean Club, the Literary Club, the Woman’s Club and the Press Club. The initial meeting of the new organization took place in the study of Dr. F.N. Calvin, the pastor of Central Christian Church. Thirty-eight women were present.
By May 1905, nine clubs had joined the newly christened Waco Federation of Women’s Clubs. Later that year, the WFWC spearheaded efforts to create Waco’s first city park. The successful establishment of Sul Ross Park at 1301 Barnard Street, Harlow writes, inspired the Cameron family to donate Cameron Park in 1907.
Membership in the WFWC has varied widely through the decades. The Euterpean Club, for instance, is still active, but other groups have come and gone. Some of the many notable organization clubs that once called the Federation House home include:
The Woman’s Club. Established in 1892 in the home of Mrs. E.D. Dickson, their motto — “When I rest, I rust” — gives you an idea of the group’s widely ranging advocacy of both the arts and public health and safety concerns.
The Waco Euterpean Club. Founded in January 1894 to promote music, it remains the oldest music club in Texas.
The Waco Press Club. Established in 1894, the organization included reporters, novelists, writers and poets from Dallas to Galveston. In addition to providing support for women in male-dominated fields, the Press Club was instrumental in establishing the first public restroom for rural women and children shopping in Waco’s lively downtown shopping district.
The Review Club. Established in 1909, the Club’s motto was “Literature is the thought of thinking souls” and its members studied American literature, including women and Texas writers at a time when few academics valued their contributions.
The National Council of Jewish Women. Founded in 1912, the Council was one of the most active organizations in Waco. Among its many accomplishments was the establishment in 1939 of the Maternal Health Center, supporting legislation to require health inspections in area dairies and improved sanitary conditions in local jails.
The McLennan County Medical Auxiliary. Established in 1917, the Auxiliary was at the forefront of many local health and medical initiatives, including a drive to have all Wacoans x-rayed for tuberculosis in 1949.
The Civic Garden Club. Originally known as the Outdoor Garden Circle, the organization changed its name in 1927 and led the citywide effort to plant crepe myrtles in all parks and roadways and directed the landscaping of Fort Fisher, among other beautification efforts. One longtime member was Helen Wheeler Conger Poage (known as “Miss Nellie”), the mother of Rep. Bob Poage. The congressman gave $100,000 to establish the beloved “Miss Nellie’s Pretty Place” in Cameron Park.
The WFWC’s work wasn’t limited to Waco. The journal Waco Heritage & History includes a photograph of a P-51, one of the six aircraft purchased by the organization as part of the national “Buy a Bomber” campaign to support the war effort in World War II. The WFWC also raised the money to purchase a B-17E Flying Fortress and an ambulance aircraft. The P-51, incidentally, was christened, “Waco – The City with a Soul.”
After years of meeting in a smaller building at 14th Street and Washington Avenue, a series of articles in the Waco newspapers in 1953 and ’54 chronicle the WFWC’s efforts to purchase the Clement-Potts home. In October, each of the 27 member clubs was allowed one vote on the proposal. The final tally was 19 for the purchase, seven against, with one abstention (the Euterpeans). The house was purchased for $55,000.
Since then, the Waco Federation House has remained a beloved part of the fabric of Waco history and culture, with an unbroken stream of meetings, luncheons, performances (the house boasts two grand pianos) and wedding receptions.
As of September 2025, five clubs comprise the WFWC: Alpha Delta Kappa (Beta Pi chapter), Laureate Eta Alpha, Preceptor Omicron Pi, the Garden Patch Garden Club and the Waco Euterpean Music Club.
Patty Reneau, who serves as the WFWC president, was even married in the Federation House in 1987.
“There aren’t that many historic homes left in Waco that are in good shape,” Reneau said, “and it’s a great place for people to meet.”
She said she loves it when people tell her, “I was married here” or “I had piano lessons here” or “I had my baby shower here.”
The Waco Federation of Women’s Club will host an open house celebrating the 100-year anniversary of the Waco Federation House from 2-4 p.m. Saturday October 11.
“This house,” Reneau said, “itself is part of the history of Waco.”
