History of the Milwaukie Community Club

A group of concerned residents in East Milwaukie met at the home of Mrs. & Mrs. Charles Hansen on Feb. 2, 1926 to discuss a sewer system that the city was proposing to build.  From this meeting the East Milwaukie Progressive Club began, with Roy Miller as president.

After meeting at members’ homes, and later the Milwaukie Fire Station, the club decided to build a meeting hall.   Land was purchased for $675, and the work of clearing trees and blasting stumps was begun. 

April of 1928 marked the beginning excavation of the 40 x 100 feet basement.  On Aug. 12^th, the men raised the rafters, and the “women came to help and also served the dinner”.   By September, the roof was shingled and the gutters were hung.   By December, the exterior was sided.   The basement was finished by the end of the following May.   The first electric lights were powered from Mr. Hookum’s barn next door.

Almost all of the major construction had been financed with donations, but, by the end of 1928, funds were running short.

At the January 1929 meeting, it was noted that an additional $714 had been raised, but it wasn’t enough.   When the officers proposed to mortgage the building, a terrible dispute arose.   The directors, secretary and treasurer resigned when the members voted against the idea.  New officers were elected to take their places, and by June, the club finally authorized securing notes “not to exceed 8%”.     By Jan. 1930, the debt totaled $1,656 (loans weren’t paid off till 1944.).  

The building served many social  and community functions over the years, and the East Milwaukie Progressive Club, which changed its name in 1935 to the Milwaukie Community Club, continues to raise funds to maintain and upgrade the facility.  

The club is a non-profit Oregon corporation.   (researched by Ed Warmoth, 1998)