MacDowell Clubs
The MacDowell Clubs in the United States were established at the turn of the twentieth century to honor internationally recognized American composer Edward MacDowell. They became part of a broader social movement to promote music and other art forms in America. History The first MacDowell music club was established in 1896 in Boston by Edward MacDowell's students — The MacDowell Club of Boston (Edith Noyes Greene was one of the founders). Club in Providence, Rhode Island was founded in 1901, and another one, in Baker City, Oregon, in 1903, another club formed in Conneaut, Ohio in 1903. The MacDowell Club of Canton was founded in 1908; its members donated funds for construction of the Gail Watson Cable Recital Hall. The MacDowell Club of Allied Arts of Los Angeles was established in 1918. In Cincinnati, not a club, but the Cincinnati MacDowell Society was founded in 1913, which formed significant ties with the MacDowell Colony. At the peak of their popularity before and during the World War II, about 400 independent clubs functioned in the nation. In 1955, Marian MacDowell wrote in a letter, "I suppose in the last forty years there must have been nearly 400; probably there are 300