Kirkland Woman's Club
The Kirkland Women's Club Library is now connected with the local school. Although the Kirkland Women's Club itself has gone dormant, there are some objects left in the library. It is located in Kirkland, Arizona, and researchers should contact the school to inquire about visiting the library.
History of Kirkland Area's Euro-American Settlement
The area presently known as Kirkland lies in central Arizona in a high valley ringed by mountains. It had been at least a seasonal home to Native Americans, including Yavapais and Apaches from various bands, when the first white settlers arrived in the 1860s.
The area is named after William H. Kirkland, a colorful character who came and left fairly rapidly, as was common in the early days of Western settlement. Kirkland had emigrated from Missouri as a young man in 1850. After living in California for five years, he moved to Tucson just at the time that the Gadsden Purchase was completed. Legend has it that he was among those present when the US flag was raised there for the first time.
When he ventured to Yavapai County in 1863, he had a wife and two children. The area was untamed, but the enterprising Kirkland farmed and ranched, and did other things as well. Although the Miller family is well known for its freight hauling activities in the area, Kirkland supposedly was the first person to drive a supply wagon over Antelope Hill. And he mined.
The area was rich in various minerals, so Kirkland opened a gold mine, operating four crude mills (arrastras) with a crew of up to 30 men, according to old timers. If the stories are true, he sold up to $1500-$1700 worth of gold every week in Prescott, the booming gold camp over the hill.
Kirkland eventually left the area, but many others arrived who continued living much as he had-farming, ranching, and mining. They were not interested only in gold. Harold Rynearson, for instance, began mining tufa, a molten rock that is soft when first extracted but hardens like cement when exposed to air. Though once used in building-the old Kirkland school is constructed of tufa-it is now mined to use as kitty litter.
Time certainly changes most things, but others remain constant. Early in the days of white settlement, Kirkland's economy was built on mining and ranching. The Kirkland area is still known for its ranches, and people still believe that there is gold in the hills.
Another important and continuing element in Kirkland's history is the railroad. The Prescott & Phoenix line came through in 1894, but the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad bought the line in 1895. Kirkland Junction developed less as a standard settlement than as a train stop for unloading freight and shipping out cattle and ore. Although there was never passenger service at the Kirkland Junction, the depot was busy. The railroad built bunkhouses, stock pens, and water towers to service its needs. An ore dump that stood as a sort of monument and evidence of early shipping burned up a few years ago.
The original town was nearer to the windmill, but eventually residents relocated it to the area where the bar, built in 1923, is located. The local school was built near that site in the 1910s, but because the cornerstone has been marred, it is difficult to determine the exact date. The old building still stands. However, several additions have been made, and other buildings now make up a complex of structures for the nearly 100 students who attend grades K-6.
History of Kirkland Woman's Club
This is based on some information in the Kirkland Woman's Club library and on the accounts of JoJo DeHesse, a former member of the club.
The Kirkland Woman's Club was federated in May of 1923, and, in the same year, the club built the structure that the library still occupies. By March 1927, Club members had finished paying for the facility. Mrs. George W. Cutler served as the first president and Chairman of the Club Library.
Like all Women's Clubs in Arizona, the Kirkland Woman's Club had many functions. It promoted culture and education as well as social activities in the area. One might say that, along with the Sheriff's Posse, the club served as the social hub for all those living in the surrounding settlements, farms and ranches. The Kirkland Woman's Club held monthly meetings in their new building and over the years regularly hosted social events including fashion shows. One of the more enjoyable and memorable activities for local residents was dancing; monthly dances were held in the Club's building.
Like many similar organizations, enthusiasm for the Kirkland Woman's Club dwindled as the older members passed on. It is now in what seems to be permanent hibernation. In about 1978 or 1979, the women of the club relinquished the building to the Kirkland Sheriff's Posse, which soon disbanded. After the facility reverted to the women, the Kirkland Woman's Club gave the building to the local school in 1980 or 1982. They added one stipulation: that they could use the library and hall when they wanted to get together.
The Kirkland Woman's Club Building:
The most important artifact still remaining from the Kirkland Woman's Club is the club building. The original structure, completed in 1923, was approximately 25' x 60'. Built without a foundation, it has a stage on one end, which was probably part of the original structure. They later added a kitchen area behind the stage. The local school uses the facility as a library.
Because there is no foundation, the floor has suffered damage over the years during heavy rains and flooding.
Artifacts remaining:
Structure
Kirkland Woman's Club Library and Hall: The 25' x 60' wooden structure was dedicated in 1923. Although the floor is in poor condition, the building still stands and the library still enhances the lives of area students, especially those in the Kirkland School, grades K-6. The present library is the outgrowth of earlier planning. The first volumes were purchased in 1928.
Furniture
Desk, in present library probably was used in the Kirkland School from its earliest days. As one local resident noted, it would take a 20-mule team to move this sturdy desk.
Documentary artifacts
Book collection: 1200-1500 books originally purchased by the Woman's Club are now being deacquisitioned to original donors.
Art
Painting, oil, Ada Rigden, about 12" x14": current ownership is uncertain, but it once belonged to Kirkland Women's Club
Photo, framed: Mrs. George Cutler along with commemoration of her years as president
Photo, framed: Mrs. Charles R. Rigden along with commemoration of her years as president
