WIU Students Research on McDonough County History
Editor’s Note: Students enrolled in Western Illinois University Professor Greg Hall’s Illinois history seminar during the Fall 2025 semester each wrote 700-word summaries of their research papers about McDonough County history, and Dr. Hall generously provided these summaries to The Community News Brief. We will be publishing these over the next few months as part of McDonough County’s Bicentennial celebration coverage. We greatly appreciate Dr. Hall and his students for contributing to our historical retrospectives.
During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, there was a major push of women becoming more politically and socially active through women’s groups. While the majority of academic study on these groups during the Progressive Era is focused on groups based in major cities, women in rural areas such as Macomb also played a major role in shaping reform and creating meaningful change for their communities. The XXMD, Anna L. Parker, and Fortnightly clubs of Macomb, mirrored many of the changes that were happening on the national scale in the context of a small town. These three clubs would localize Progressive Era ideals by combining academic study, service to their communities, and civic improvement to expand the influence of women in McDonough County.
In the late 1800s the United States was experiencing rapid modernization, major educational reforms and a movement of moral upliftment. Many women would desire greater academic knowledge and a space where they could discuss current issues and affairs, both nationally and locally. However, social expectations during this time were restrictive of women being outspoken about social and political issues, while also expecting women to be nurturing and taking care of the “domestic sphere”. The creation of women’s clubs along with the expectations that came from this “domestic sphere” turned the domestic virtutes of these women into an energy of civic reform, making women’s clubs a bridge between home and community.
The first important club was the XXMD Club. XXMD which stood for “Twenty Monday Dames.' The group only allowed 20 members and would meet every Monday. The XXMD Club would study subjects such as literature and history and emphasized the further education of its members. XXMD was the least politically active of the three groups but still helped organize community events, raising money for poor families and fundraising so children from poor families could receive an education. The Anna L. Parker Club originally started as a book club but changed its name and goals after the club's leader Anna L. Parker passed away. The group discussed a wide variety of topics such as law, literature, and current issues. The Anna L. Parker Club was active in addressing many issues within Macomb such as poverty but was especially active in helping families of soldiers during WWI and organizing and raising money for the Red Cross during WWII. The Fortnightly Club was the most civic-oriented of the three groups but still emphasized academic pursuits of its members. They studied many topics such as poetry, famous works of literature, and history. The Fortnightly Club provided aid to poor families, organized public lawn and street cleanliness drives, and successfully advocated for the public library to be open for two days a week rather than one.
While it varied from group to group, these three clubs show how intellectual study in women’s clubs usually led to greater community action. The importance of education to these groups led to them helping children receive education and more availably of the library.
The organization of public clean ups was some of the earliest forms of advocacy for public health and well-being in Macomb, while fundraising campaigns would pave the way for local public welfare awareness.
It is also important to note the relationship these three clubs had with the Suffrage Movement. Many clubwomen supported suffrage privately but avoided public activism due to social expectations and public scrutiny. One of the largest national women’s groups during this time, the General Federation of Women’s Clubs did not openly support suffrage until 1914 due to concerns of public backlash, reflecting the caution that many women felt about openly supporting suffrage. While many women within the three clubs likely supported suffrage long before the 19th amendment, they would not have the support in rural Illinois to advocate for it without facing major backlash.
The XXMD, Anna L. Parker, and Fortnightly clubs were durable groups that advocated for their own education and the education of those who could not receive it otherwise, while also creating meaningful change for their communities. Their persistence shows the influence and impact of groups that were dedicated to the advancement of their education and the betterment of their communities.
