New England Women’s Club is established.

Founded by Ednah Dow Cheney, Julia Ward Howe, and others at a meeting in Horticultural Hall, the club meets initially at 3 Tremont Place [at a meeting at 4 – 5 Park Street]. One of the first women’s clubs in the U.S., its purpose is to promote social and intellectual interaction and civic reform. The Boston Evening Transcript charges that, because of it, “Homes will be ruined, children neglected, woman is straying from her sphere.” Severance is the first president, and is succeeded by Howe, who serves in the post for more than 40 years. The organization soon moves to 4 Park Street, then 5 Park Street, and then to Boylston Street. It continues today.