Rector, Arkansas

The Rector Woman's Club was organized Feb. 12, 1912. Over 100 womehn joined the club and Mrs. S.E.C. Cox was elected to serve as the first president.

After organization and federation in that year, 1912, the Rector Woman's Club made plans for some much-needed civic improvement right in the middle of town, where a triangle plot of ground belonging to the Cotton Belt Railroad had on it nothing but hitching posts for buggies, wagons and teams of horses and oxen tied there to await the close of business deals for the day. The club soon had it transformed into a sodded park with trees and shrubs, a water fountain and a small pool, a bandstand for concerts and benches for resting.

Throughout the years the club has helped maintain and replenish this mini-park and it served as a place to enjoy music by the Rector Concert Band on Thursday nights for many years. Later records show that a liberal cash donation to the city park was made by Helen Gould of New York, and other Cotton Belt Railroad officials, when they learned about the plans of the Woman's Club to make a thing of beauty out of this mudhole.

In 1915 the club placed an iron grill arch entrance at the Woodland Heights Cemetery.

During the early years, the club sponsored well-planned musical entertainments at the Opera House to raise funds for civic projects.

The club cooperated with W.P.A. officials to establish a public library for Rector and vicinity. The club collected 250 books and donations of cash, books and magazines to increase the book stock and help the library services to expand. The library was officially opened in February, 1935. In a few years the club sponsored plans for moving the library to larger quarters on Main Street and soon the building was enlarged to provide double floor space area. Later, the addition of a room at the rear with kitchen and restroom facilities was another improvement.

The archway entrance to the Rector Memorial Park was erected by the Woman's Club in 1948.

In 1958 the Woman's Club assisted in raising funds for a factory to be located in Rector.

In 1972 the City Council purchased the adjoining lot to the library and the Woman's Club sponsored a fund drive for $11,000 to remodel and double the floor space of the library.

The club has been active in the school system sponsoring prizes for spelling bee contests, sponsoring a girl to Girls State, Hoby, art contest, drama, dictionary project, gifts of money to students to further their education and many other projects.

The Community Center groundbreaking ceremony was held in 1990. The Woman's Club had worked on fund-raising for the Community Center since 1978, raising $30,000.

In March of 2003, Joey Pruett presented to the Rector Woman's Club his dream for a museum, named the Rector Community Museum. The club donated approximately $10,000 to this project. The museum opened Labor Day weekend, Sept. 7, 2006. A dream comes true.

In 2002 the club raised approximately $15,000 for the Jaws of Life the local fire department needed.

The Rector Woman's Club has been involved in too many projects to mention here, but it is a working club and invites any woman living in this area to join and help us in our projects to keep Rector beautiful and growing.

Since the first project, the club has been involved with helping the civic organizations with many projects and projects of their own.