The Municipal Housekeepers: The West End Woman’s Club and the Social Hub of 1100 Cascade

Introduction: The Civic Matriarchs of Southwest Atlanta

During the early to mid-twentieth century, the suburban expansion of Southwest Atlanta was not solely directed by real estate developers and city aldermen. A formidable civic and political force operated behind the scenes to shape the infrastructure, public transit, aesthetic standards, and racial boundaries of the Cascade corridor. The West End Woman’s Club functioned as the “municipal housekeepers” of the district, wielding immense influence over local government and corporate monopolies. The history of their physical clubhouse at 1100 Cascade Avenue reveals a fascinating architectural evolution, transitioning from a segregated mid-century social hall into a vital educational facility, a spiritual center, and ultimately an inclusive youth empowerment hub for succeeding generations.

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Chapter 1: From the Wren’s Nest to 1100 Cascade

The West End Woman’s Club was officially organized in June 1923 at the historic Wren’s Nest, the former home of author Joel Chandler Harris. Under the leadership of its first president, Mrs. Emmett W. Brogdon, the club adopted the motto “To uplift and help others” and the slogan “Each for the other and all for the club.”^[1] As the residential population of the West End and Cascade areas swelled, the women recognized the need for a permanent, centralized headquarters to coordinate their civic initiatives.

The club’s ambitions took a massive leap forward in the spring of 1924 thanks to a strategic alliance with local political leadership. Alderman I.N. Ragsdale and his wife formally gifted the club a prime 100-by-200-foot lot on Cascade Avenue to serve as the site of the future clubhouse. Valued at $10,000, the land was part of the former home place of Mrs. Ragsdale’s parents, Mr. and Mrs. J.M. Smith, and was dedicated as a memorial to the Ragsdales’ mothers.^[2], ^[3]

With the land secured, the club launched a highly publicized fundraising campaign. Initial 1924 designs by architects De Ford Smith and J.P. Downing called for an ambitious $25,000 facility. The blueprints featured parlors, committee rooms, a dining room, an auditorium with a large stage, and two wide terraces, one overlooking Cascade Avenue and another at the rear, glassed in to serve as a conservatory and private dining room.^[4], ^[5] By August 1926, the final plans were completed by the architectural firm of Fetch and Southwell, and the contract was put out for bids.^[6]

After years of planning, the members officially broke ground in September 1926, in a ceremony led by the club’s president, Mrs. W.B. Price.^[7] Following a cornerstone laying on December 19, the completed 1100 Cascade Avenue clubhouse was formally dedicated on January 13, 1927. The dedication ceremony was a major civic event, overseen by Mrs. R.K. Rambo, president of the City Federation, and club president Mrs. Chester W. Johnson. To ensure a massive turnout, the Georgia Railway and Power Company furnished a special bus line from the end of the Whitehall-Beecher streetcar line directly to the clubhouse doors.^[8], ^[9]

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Chapter 2: The Social Hub and Philanthropic Engine

The new facility quickly became the most prominent geographic and social anchor for the surrounding area. Throughout the late 1920s and 1930s, the clubhouse hosted a relentless schedule of community events. The society pages of the era were filled with notices for benefit bridge-luncheons, Christmas bazaars, chicken suppers, and a mammoth “Advertisement Ball” in July 1926.^[10], ^[11], ^[12]

The 1100 Cascade clubhouse was also the epicenter of local nightlife for the neighborhood’s youth. The club’s “Junior Department” (organized in 1924) frequently hosted Saturday evening “script dances” from 9:00 p.m. to midnight, ranging from formal gatherings to massive old-fashioned New Year’s Eve square dances featuring live music by the Dixie String Band.^[13], ^[14]

Beyond socializing, the club was a formidable philanthropic engine. In 1926, under the direction of library chairman Mrs. A.B. Thompson, the club collected and donated 237 books to the new library at Alto, Georgia. In 1928 alone, hospital chairman Mrs. B.C. Davis reported that club members had rolled 10,000 bandages for Grady Hospital.^[15], ^[16] In March 1930, they hosted the first annual “Greater Atlanta Ball” at the Shrine Mosque to benefit the Alto Masonic Home for Tubercular Children.^[17]

The building’s prestige was so widely recognized that real estate developers utilized it as a primary landmark. When the Majestic Corporation and George L. Wilson launched the Kenmore Parks subdivision in November 1939, their advertisements explicitly directed prospective buyers to the new neighborhood by noting it was located “just east of the West End Woman’s Club.”^[18]

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Chapter 3: Municipal Housekeeping, Transit, and Beautification

The club’s influence extended far beyond social gatherings; they were highly effective political lobbyists who demanded modern infrastructure for their expanding, exclusively white suburbs. In the winter of 1926, as the Wey-Con Company and other developers were rapidly building out the Cascade Heights subdivisions, the area suffered from a severe lack of public transportation.

“The West End Woman’s Club took direct action against the region’s transit monopoly. In December 1926, the club successfully petitioned the Georgia Railway and Electric Company to establish a dedicated bus line service for the corridor. The women argued that the new transit line was desperately needed to accommodate the residents of the new subdivisions, as well as visitors traveling to Greenwood Cemetery and the local golf club. By organizing their collective political weight, the club forced the corporate utility to invest in the suburban fringe.”^[19]

The club also took a hands-on approach to the environmental and aesthetic standards of their neighborhoods. Their municipal housekeeping took many forms. In January 1925, the club launched a highly publicized “Campaign Against Rats” to improve neighborhood sanitation.^[20] Their advocacy also yielded significant recreational dividends; in April 1927, the club was credited with successfully securing a “lovely new park” for the West End.^[21]

In February 1929, under the presidency of Mrs. Chester Johnson, the club launched a massive “Clean-Up Campaign.” Working alongside Chief Jenson of the city’s sanitary department, they successfully pressured newspaper companies to place trash receptacles at distribution points and lobbied the Georgia Power Company to stop its streetcar conductors from throwing torn transfers onto the streets. The women argued that “systematic vigilance keeps streets clean and well paved…and also increases property values.”^[22]

This beautification work continued into the 1930s. In March 1931, the club hosted a massive tree dedication ceremony honoring Mrs. J.F. Sippel, president of the General Federation of Women’s Clubs, which featured a reading of Joyce Kilmer’s poem “Trees” and dance numbers by Miss Jacquelin Gullatt.^[23] In January 1933, they partnered with the newly formed Cascade Heights Garden Club to organize the planting of shrubs along Cascade Avenue [now Cascade Road] and engaged in strict environmental policing, coordinating the “removal of unsightly signs and billboards” to protect the pastoral character of the suburb.^[24]

The leadership of the club was deeply respected by the surrounding real estate and civic establishment. In March 1934, Mrs. W.N. Ponder, the wife of John M. Ponder, the prominent real estate agent who had directed the initial 1920s sales campaign for Cascade Heights, hosted a special service honoring the officers of the West End Woman’s Club. During the ceremony, specific trees were dedicated to the club’s past presidents, physically rooting their legacy into the landscape they had helped cultivate.^[25]

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Chapter 4: Defending the Color Line: The 1939 Eagan Homes Controversy

While the club’s civic initiatives brought modern amenities to the Cascade corridor, their “municipal housekeeping” also extended to strictly enforcing the neighborhood’s racial boundaries. As the demographic landscape of Atlanta’s west side began to shift in the late 1930s, the West End Woman’s Club mobilized to protect their exclusively white enclave.

Historical Context: The Eagan Homes Zoning Battle
In the spring of 1939, the newly formed Atlanta Housing Authority (AHA) announced plans to construct the John Eagan Homes, a 1,200-unit public housing project for African Americans. The proposed site was located near Westview Drive, the unofficial racial border of the city’s west side. The proposal sparked immediate and fierce backlash from white residents who feared the encroachment of Black Atlantans into their district.

The West End Woman’s Club joined a formidable coalition of white organizations, including the West End Businessmen’s Association, the Civic Club of West End, the local post of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, and various white Parent-Teacher Associations, to halt the development. Utilizing their well-honed lobbying skills, the coalition gathered 3,800 signatures and petitioned the City Council, federal representatives, and President Franklin D. Roosevelt. As prominent Black sociologist Walter Chivers observed at the time, the civic organizations of the West End had firmly decided that “the Negroes have come as far as they want them to go.”^[26], ^[27]

The pressure campaign was highly effective. Bowing to the demands of the West End’s white civic establishment, the AHA scrapped its plans for the Westview Drive location and moved the Eagan Homes project further north to Connally Park. The club had successfully defended the color line, at least temporarily.

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Chapter 5: Burning the Mortgage and the Cold War Era

The club’s disciplined organizational structure was matched by its financial prudence. After sixteen years of hosting fundraisers, managing civic projects, and navigating the economic hardships of the Great Depression, the women successfully paid off the debt on their Cascade Avenue headquarters.

On June 18, 1942, the members gathered at the clubhouse for a triumphant ceremony. Led once again by Mrs. W.B. Price, the club officially burned the mortgage on their building.^[28] This act of financial independence secured their permanent footprint on Cascade Avenue.

Throughout the 1940s and 1950s, the 1100 Cascade clubhouse remained a bustling hub for the white residents of the corridor under the leadership of presidents such as Mrs. S.J. Alexander (1944), Mrs. N.E. Clayton (1945), Mrs. F. Starr (1947), Mrs. G. Lewis (1948), and Mrs. C.C. Glenn (1952). It hosted meetings for the local Civitan District, turkey dinners, and fashion fetes featuring clothing from Lalon’s Dress Shop modeled by club members.^[29], ^[30]

During the Cold War anxieties of November 1952, the clubhouse served as the local Civil Defense registration center, screening the film Pattern for Survival for neighborhood women while hostess Mrs. M.W. Stallings served tea.^[31] As late as May 1960, the building was still being utilized by the YWCA to host neighborhood classes in bridge, flower arranging, and millinery.^[32]

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Chapter 6: The Legacy of 1100 Cascade

As the demographic landscape of Southwest Atlanta underwent a profound transition in the 1960s and 1970s, the physical infrastructure built by the early white civic clubs was repurposed to serve the incoming African American community. The building at 1100 Cascade Avenue was no exception.

By the 1980s and 1990s, the former West End Woman’s Club headquarters had been transformed into the International Preparatory Institute. This Black-owned educational facility provided vital childcare and early childhood education to the families of the Cascade corridor. Archival records from the 1990s show the Institute operating from 6:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., offering infant care and preparatory schooling with weekly tuitions ranging from $60 to $70.^[33] The facility also served as a community gathering space, hosting events such as the “Southwest Atlanta Big Yard Sale” in the spring of 1996.^[34]

By the early 2020s, the building had taken on a spiritual role, housing the New Zion Baptist Church under the leadership of Rev. R. Paul Hollman. Today, the historic address of 1100 Cascade Avenue SW has been revitalized yet again, serving as a primary site for Camp Village, Inc., a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded by Jo Roberson Edwards in 2002.^[35] Operating under the African proverb, “It takes a whole village to raise a child,” the organization has transformed the former Woman’s Club into a bustling hub of youth empowerment. For its 24th summer program in 2026, Camp Village utilizes the space to offer over 33 activities, ranging from robotics and coding to entrepreneurship and the arts, to Atlanta youth ages 5 to 24.^[36]

In stark contrast to the exclusionary racial policies championed by the building’s original occupants in 1939, the modern mission at 1100 Cascade is radically inclusive. The space is now governed by “The Camp Village Creed,” an acrostic authored by founder Jo Roberson Edwards. The creed explicitly mandates that leaders must “Care for all children indiscriminately,” ensuring that “all children must feel understood, accepted and loved,” while declaring that “Each child is a unique and unrepeatable miracle.”^[37]

The evolution of 1100 Cascade Avenue perfectly encapsulates the broader, complex history of the corridor. A building originally constructed in 1926 to serve as the exclusive social and political headquarters for the white “municipal housekeepers” of the West End ultimately became a foundational educational space, a church, and now a vibrant, inclusive youth development center for succeeding generations. The building remains a quiet testament to a century of neighborhood evolution, reflecting the complex, ever-changing, and increasingly equitable history of Southwest Atlanta.

Related Reading:

• Cascade Heights: The Foundational Anchor
• George L. Wilson: The Architect of the Earth and the Network

Footnotes & Citations (Click to Expand)

Citations:

1. “WEST END WOMEN AID IN PROGRESS,” The Atlanta Constitution, September 26, 1937. ↑
2. “West End Woman’s Club Announces Gift of Building Site,” The Atlanta Constitution, January 27, 1924. ↑
3. “Ragsdale Gives Lot to Club,” The Atlanta Journal, July 8, 1924. ↑
4. “$25,000 Clubhouse To Be Built By West End Woman’s Club,” The Atlanta Constitution, May 29, 1924. ↑
5. “Leaders in West End Club,” The Atlanta Constitution, August 10, 1924. ↑
6. “West End Woman’s Club To Let Contract for New Clubhouse,” The Atlanta Constitution, August 22, 1926. ↑
7. “WEST END WOMEN BREAK GROUND FOR NEW CLUBHOUSE,” The Atlanta Journal, September 15, 1926. ↑
8. “West End Club To Be Dedicated This Afternoon,” The Atlanta Constitution, January 13, 1927. ↑
9. “West End Woman’s Club To Lay Cornerstone of New Club Dec. 15,” The Atlanta Constitution, December 12, 1926. ↑
10. “Christmas Bazars To Be Held by Many Women’s Organizations This Week,” The Atlanta Journal, December 5, 1926. ↑
11. “West End Clubwomen To Sponsor Mammoth ‘Advertisement Ball’,” The Atlanta Constitution, July 18, 1926. ↑
12. “Benefit bridge-luncheon,” The Atlanta Journal, October 21, 1931. ↑
13. “Script Dance Saturday at W. E. Woman’s Club,” The Atlanta Journal, August 3, 1928. ↑
14. “Old-fashioned square dance,” The Atlanta Journal, December 30, 1931. ↑
15. “West End Woman’s Club To Lay Cornerstone of New Club Dec. 15,” The Atlanta Constitution, December 12, 1926. ↑
16. “West End Woman’s Club Activities Prove Interesting,” The Atlanta Constitution, August 25, 1928. ↑
17. “West End Woman’s Club Plans Greater Atlanta Ball March 11,” The Atlanta Constitution, February 9, 1930. ↑
18. “Kenmore Parks, New Subdivision, Is Now Opened,” The Atlanta Constitution, November 19, 1939. ↑
19. “West End Woman’s Club Requests Cascade Road Bus Line Service,” The Atlanta Constitution, December 5, 1926. ↑
20. “West End Woman’s Club To Start Campaign Against Rats,” The Atlanta Constitution, January 30, 1925. ↑
21. “West End Woman’s Club Secures Lovely New Park for West End,” The Atlanta Constitution, April 10, 1927. ↑
22. “West End Woman’s Club Urges Aid in ‘Clean-Up Campaign’,” The Atlanta Constitution, February 3, 1929. ↑
23. “WEST END WOMAN’S CLUB HOLDS TREE DEDICATION,” The Atlanta Constitution, March 21, 1931. ↑
24. “Plans Made to Beautify Cascade Road,” The Atlanta Journal, January 29, 1933. ↑
25. “Mrs. W. N. Ponder To Honor Officers Of West End Woman’s Club Tuesday,” The Atlanta Constitution, March 25, 1934. ↑
26. Karen J. Ferguson, The Politics of Inclusion: Black Activism in Atlanta During the Roosevelt Era, 1932-1946 (Ph.D. Dissertation, Duke University, 1996), 336. ↑
27. “West Enders to Seek Legal Means to Prevent Egan [sic] Homes Project,” The Atlanta Constitution, May 31, 1939. ↑
28. “Clubhouse Mortgage Burned By West End Women’s Club,” The Atlanta Constitution, June 27, 1942. ↑
29. “Civitan District Sets Sunday Meet,” The Atlanta Constitution, December 15, 1951. ↑
30. “Women Give Fashion Fete In West End,” The Atlanta Constitution, November 19, 1952. ↑
31. “Civil Defense Registration Set,” The Atlanta Constitution, November 12, 1952. ↑
32. “YWCA SUMMER CLASSES,” The Atlanta Constitution, May 13, 1960. ↑
33. “M-F. Weekly tuition range: $60-$70,” The Atlanta Journal, March 16, 1995. ↑
34. “SOUTHWEST ATLANTA BIG YARD SALE,” The Atlanta Journal, April 27, 1996. ↑
35. “Camp Village Registration 2026,” Camp Village, Inc. promotional materials, 2026. ↑
36. “About Us,” Camp Village, Inc. website, accessed 2026. ↑
37. Jo Roberson Edwards, “The Camp Village Creed,” Camp Village, Inc. ↑

Comprehensive Bibliography (Click to Expand)

• Camp Village, Inc. “About Us” and “Camp Village Registration 2026.” Promotional materials and website, 2026.
• Edwards, Jo Roberson. “The Camp Village Creed.” Camp Village, Inc.
• Ferguson, Karen J. The Politics of Inclusion: Black Activism in Atlanta During the Roosevelt Era, 1932-1946. Ph.D. Dissertation, Duke University, 1996.
• The Atlanta Constitution. “$25,000 Clubhouse To Be Built By West End Woman’s Club.” May 29, 1924.
• The Atlanta Constitution. “Civil Defense Registration Set.” November 12, 1952.
• The Atlanta Constitution. “Civitan District Sets Sunday Meet.” December 15, 1951.
• The Atlanta Constitution. “Clubhouse Mortgage Burned By West End Women’s Club.” June 27, 1942.
• The Atlanta Constitution. “Kenmore Parks, New Subdivision, Is Now Opened.” November 19, 1939.
• The Atlanta Constitution. “Leaders in West End Club.” August 10, 1924.
• The Atlanta Constitution. “Mrs. W. N. Ponder To Honor Officers Of West End Woman’s Club Tuesday.” March 25, 1934.
• The Atlanta Constitution. “WEST END WOMEN AID IN PROGRESS.” September 26, 1937.
• The Atlanta Constitution. “WEST END WOMAN’S CLUB HOLDS TREE DEDICATION.” March 21, 1931.
• The Atlanta Constitution. “West End Club To Be Dedicated This Afternoon.” January 13, 1927.
• The Atlanta Constitution. “West End Clubwomen To Sponsor Mammoth ‘Advertisement Ball’.” July 18, 1926.
• The Atlanta Constitution. “West End Woman’s Club Activities Prove Interesting.” August 25, 1928.
• The Atlanta Constitution. “West End Woman’s Club Announces Gift of Building Site.” January 27, 1924.
• The Atlanta Constitution. “West End Woman’s Club Plans Greater Atlanta Ball March 11.” February 9, 1930.
• The Atlanta Constitution. “West End Woman’s Club Secures Lovely New Park for West End.” April 10, 1927.
• The Atlanta Constitution. “West End Woman’s Club To Lay Cornerstone of New Club Dec. 15.” December 12, 1926.
• The Atlanta Constitution. “West End Woman’s Club To Let Contract for New Clubhouse.” August 22, 1926.
• The Atlanta Constitution. “West End Woman’s Club To Start Campaign Against Rats.” January 30, 1925.
• The Atlanta Constitution. “West End Woman’s Club Urges Aid in ‘Clean-Up Campaign’.” February 3, 1929.
• The Atlanta Constitution. “West End Woman’s Club Requests Cascade Road Bus Line Service.” December 5, 1926.
• The Atlanta Constitution. “West Enders to Seek Legal Means to Prevent Egan [sic] Homes Project.” May 31, 1939.
• The Atlanta Constitution. “Women Give Fashion Fete In West End.” November 19, 1952.
• The Atlanta Constitution. “YWCA SUMMER CLASSES.” May 13, 1960.
• The Atlanta Journal. “Benefit bridge-luncheon.” October 21, 1931.
• The Atlanta Journal. “Chicken Supper At West End Women’s Club.” June 22, 1927.
• The Atlanta Journal. “Christmas Bazars To Be Held by Many Women’s Organizations This Week.” December 5, 1926.
• The Atlanta Journal. “Colonial Style Residence Under Consideration for West End Woman’s Club.” September 16, 1923.
• The Atlanta Journal. “Ernest Neal, of Calhoun… poet laureate of Georgia.” October 18, 1927.
• The Atlanta Journal. “Federation of Women’s Clubs officially dedicated the clubhouse.” January 14, 1927.
• The Atlanta Journal. “M-F. Weekly tuition range: $60-$70.” March 16, 1995.
• The Atlanta Journal. “Mrs. F. Starr, president.” October 7, 1947.
• The Atlanta Journal. “Mrs. G. Lewis, president.” January 27, 1948.
• The Atlanta Journal. “Mrs. N.E. Clayton.” August 19, 1945.
• The Atlanta Journal. “Mrs. S.J. Alexander, president.” July 23, 1944.
• The Atlanta Journal. “New Clubhouse Drive Inaugurated By West End Club.” October 17, 1926.
• The Atlanta Journal. “New home of the West End Woman’s Club on Cascade Road.” May 18, 1924.
• The Atlanta Journal. “Old-fashioned square dance.” December 30, 1931.
• The Atlanta Journal. “Plans Made to Beautify Cascade Road.” January 29, 1933.
• The Atlanta Journal. “plant and dedicate trees… Mrs. J.F. Sippel.” March 15, 1931.
• The Atlanta Journal. “Political rally… addresses by city candidates.” August 14, 1940.
• The Atlanta Journal. “President Roosevelt’s birthday.” January 26, 1941.
• The Atlanta Journal. “Ragsdale Gives Lot to Club.” July 8, 1924.
• The Atlanta Journal. “Saturday Evening.” July 15, 1928.
• The Atlanta Journal. “Script Dance Saturday at W. E. Woman’s Club.” August 3, 1928.
• The Atlanta Journal. “SOUTHWEST ATLANTA BIG YARD SALE.” April 27, 1996.
• The Atlanta Journal. “WEST END WOMEN BREAK GROUND FOR NEW CLUBHOUSE.” September 15, 1926.
• The Atlanta Journal. “West End Woman’s Club.” March 20, 1938.
• The Atlanta Journal. “West End Woman’s Club.” July 23, 1944.
• The Atlanta Journal. “West End Woman’s Club.” June 26, 1945.
• The Atlanta Journal. “West End Woman’s Club.” November 11, 1947.
• The Atlanta Journal. “Women of West End To Dedicate Clubhouse At Opening Thursday.” January 12, 1927.