The Margaret Fuller Club met for the first time on January 30, 1893, at the home of Emma Brown in Bloomington, Illinois. A women’s literary club, it was originally called the Reading Club but took the name Margaret Fuller Club on April 4, 1893, after the early nineteenth-century feminist and writer, Margaret Fuller (1810-1850). According to the “History of the Margaret Fuller Club,” found at the end of Record Book #4, the club was named after Margaret Fuller because she originated the first women's class for literary study.
The club’s original objective was “to obtain a better and more accurate knowledge of the different countries and cities of the globe” and “the discussion of current events and the mutual improvement of its members”. Over the years the club’s purpose evolved into the “development of literary taste and the study of current topics.”
The Margaret Fuller Club collection consists of the club’s minutes contained in record books, yearbooks, constitution, newspaper articles, handwritten notes and letters, copies of presentations, treasury statements and receipts, and other miscellaneous items. The collection also contains copies of the Bloomington Public Library’s Literary History program, brochure, and form letter inviting the local literary clubs to attend a reception in their honor.