Cleveland Park Garden Club Collection

Collection

Identifier: 038

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

Records from the Cleveland Park Garden Club extend from 1953 through 1984. The collection contains correspondence, financial materials, meeting minutes, by-laws, membership lists, and newsletters. Significant items in the collection are a letter signed by First Lady Claudia Alta “Lady Bird” Johnson and the Garden Club scrapbook highlighting various projects undertaken by the group. Included are articles from the Washington Post and photographs of members and club projects.

Dates

Creation: 1953-1984

Creator

Cleveland Park Garden Club (Organization)

Language of Materials

English

Biographical / Historical

In order to promote environmental conservation and horticultural interest, area residents founded the Cleveland Park Garden Club in 1953. Topics at the monthly meetings ranged from garden maintenance to community beautification projects. Slide and lecture presentations as well as garden tours were held throughout the year. The club was also active in local volunteer and civic efforts including the maintenance of the National Cathedral grounds, the safeguarding of “green spaces” in the District, and the Cleveland Park Branch Library Landscaping and Beautification project. The group also protested the District’s use of DDT as a pesticide.

Although the club was advertised as a community organization open to all, membership was primarily women. When the club disbanded in June 1984, the decline in membership was attributed not only to District families’ exodus to the suburbs, but also to women working outside the home.