AAUW Introduction

The history of the AAUW stretches back to 1881. On January 27, 1927, a group of women of Washington state, at the invitation of the then AAUW Cowlitz County Branch, gathered in Longview to form a Washington Division of AAUW. The movement to form a state organization was born from the suggestion of the national organization because Washington already had more than ten active branches by 1927. The original local branches that formed the state division were:

Two branches opted not to join the drive to form a state division. The Montesano Branch, being very small, joined Grays Harbor and a Pacific County Branch simply ceased to exist. The Conference was held for the purpose of forming the state organization. The headquarters were the Monticello Hotel. The two-day conference was held in the Assembly Room of the Longview Public Library. Several members of Oregon State Division attended, as did Dr. Aurelia Henry Reinhardt, National President of AAUW. (1)