Rotary’s First 100 Clubs

ROTARY’S FIRST 100 CLUBS

WITH ANNIVERSARY DATES

(From the Archives of Rotary International) Prepared by Cyndi Beck, highlighted item added by Rotary Global History editors.
Dates for the first 16 are organizational clubs. The association was created on 18 August 1910; after which they are admission dates. The club numbers are correct as assigned, however Hartford, Connecticut should have been #21 and Winnipeg, Ontario, Canada, should have been #39 according to their dates. (also see the 2006 explanation)

1.	Chicago, Illinois, U.S.A.	23 February 1905
2.	San Francisco, California, U.S.A.	12 November 1908
3.	Oakland, California, U.S.A.	05 February 1909
4.	Seattle, Washington, U.S.A.	15 June 1909
5.	Los Angeles, California, U.S.A.	25 June 1909
6.	New York, New York, U.S.A.	24 August 1909
7.	Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.A.	27 December 1909
8.	Tacoma, Washington, U.S.A.	03 February 1910
9.	Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S.A.	18 February 1910
10.	Saint Paul, Minnesota, U.S.A.	19 February 1910
11.	Saint Louis, Missouri, U.S.A.	22 February 1910
12.	New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S.A.	23 February 1910
13.	Kansas City, Missouri, U.S.A.	15 May 1910
14.	Lincoln, Nebraska, U.S.A.	06 June 1910
15.	Portland, Oregon, U.S.A.	25 May 1910
16.	Detroit, Michigan, U.S.A.	25 July 1910
National Association of Rotary Clubs – 18 August 1910
17.	Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S.A.	26 November 1910
18.	Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.A.	26 April 1911
19.	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.A.	30 April 1911
20.	Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.A.	3 June 1911
21.	Spokane, Washington; U.S.A.	17 July 1911
22.	Providence, Rhode Island, U.S.A.	17 July 1911
23.	Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, U.S.A.	17 July 1911
24.	Salt Lake City, Utah, U.S.A.	17 July 1911
25.	Duluth, Minnesota, U.S.A.	17 July 1911*
26.	Hartford, Connecticut, U.S.A.	14 July 1911*
27.	Des Moines, Iowa, U.S.A.	1 August 1911
28.	Buffalo, New York, U.S.A.	22 August 1911
29.	Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, U.S.A.	7 October 1911
30.	Wichita, Kansas, U.S.A.	18 November 1911
31.	Denver, Colorado, U.S.A.	9 December 1911
32.	St. Joseph, Missouri, U.S.A.	1 February 1912
33.	San Diego, California, U.S.A.	5 February 1912
34.	Davenport, Iowa, U.S.A.	16 February 1912
35.	Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada	13 April 1912
36.	Rochester, New York, U.S.A.	5 March 1912*
37.	Omaha, Nebraska, U.S.A.	1 March 1912*
38.	Columbus, Ohio, U.S.A.	5 March 1912
39.	Dallas, Texas, U.S.A.	9 April 1912
40.	Superior, Wisconsin, U.S.A.	1 May 1912
41.	Jacksonville, Florida, U.S.A.	1 May 1912
42.	Syracuse, New York, U.S.A.	1 June 1912
43.	Pueblo, Colorado, U.S.A.	1 June 1912
44.	Toledo, Ohio, U.S.A.	1 June 1912
45.	Louisville, Kentucky, U.S.A.	23 July 1912
46.	Washington, D.C., U.S.A.	1 August 1912
47.	Dayton, Ohio, U.S.A.	1 August 1912
48.	Baltimore Maryland, U.S.A.	1 August 1912
49.	Newark, New Jersey, U.S.A.	1 August 1912
50.	London, England	1 August 1912
NARC becomes the International Association of Rotary Clubs 9 August 1912, at the 1912 Convention in Duluth
51.	Worcester, Massachusetts	1 September 1912
52.	San Antonio, Texas	1 November 1912
53.	Houston, Texas	1 November 1912
54.	Sioux City, Iowa	1 December 1912
55.	Toronto, Ont., Canada	1 March 1913
56.	Birmingham, Alabama	1 March 1913
57.	Milwaukee, Wisconsin	1 March 1913
58.	Indianapolis, Indiana	1 March 1913
59.	Camden, New Jersey	1 April 1913
60.	Glasgow, Scotland	1 April 1913
61.	Vancouver, BC, Canada	1 April 1913
62.	Edinburgh, Scotland	1 May 1913
63.	Austin, Texas	1 May 1913
64.	Binghamton, New York	1 May 1913
65.	Dublin, Ireland	1 May 1913
66.	Manchester, Lancaster, England	1 May 1913
67.	Belfast, Ireland	1 May 1913
68.	Albany, New York	1 May 1913
69.	Richmond, Virginia	1 June 1913
70.	Patterson, New Jersey	1 June 1913
71.	Madison, Wisconsin	1 June 1913
72.	Beaumont, Texas	1 June 1913
73.	Galveston, Texas	1 June 1913
74.	Waco, Texas	1 June 1913
75.	Fort Worth, Texas	1 July 1913
76.	Peoria, Illinois	1 July 1913
77.	Grand Rapids, Michigan	1 August 1913
78.	Joliet, Illinois	1 August 1913
79.	Atlanta, Georgia	1 August 1913
80.	Liverpool, Lancaster, England	1 August 1913
81.	Halifax, NS, Canada	1 August 1913
82.	Hamilton, Ont., Canada	1 August 1913
83.	Springfield, Illinois	1 August 1913
84.	Terre Haute, Indiana	1 October 1913
85.	Montreal, Que., Canada	1 October 1913
86.	Montgomery , Alabama	1 November 1913
87.	Muskogee, Oklahoma	1 November 1913
88.	Reading, Pennsylvania	1 December 1913
89.	New Castle, Pennsylvania	1 December 1913
90.	Victoria, BC Canada	1 January 1914
91.	Erie, Pennsylvania	1 January 1914
92.	Stockton, California	1 February 1914
93.	Saginaw, Michigan	1 February 1914
94.	Nashville, Tennessee	1 February 1914
95.	Savannah, Georgia	1 February 1914
96.	Memphis, Tennessee	1 February 1914
97.	Sacramento, California	1 February 1914
98.	Springfield, Ohio	1 March 1914*
99.	Little Rock, Arkansas	1 March 1914*
100.	Phoenix, Arizona	1 March 1914* (*additional clubs on 1 March)

All of our lists and records reflect two things — that the charter numbers are 36. Rochester and 37. Omaha BUT that Omaha was organized and chartered first. I do not have any documents that support number 36 for Omaha or 37 for Rochester. (A similar issue exists with 25 Duluth and 26 Hartford, ed)

Omaha’s official charter date is 1 March 1912. Rochester’s official charter date is 5 March 1912. The old Official Directories say that Omaha was organized in August of 1911 and Rochester in September of 1911. I looked up the historical binders for each club and found that the Rochester binder has been lost. The Omaha binder contains correspondence regarding the club’s election for membership in May of 1925 but the club is given credit for a March 1 charter date — maybe because all but one of the ‘yes’ votes from the board were filed earlier. It is unclear from the papers I have why this was the case. So it seems likely that there was a delay in getting the charter to Omaha, and in the mean time the Rochester club was given a charter number of 36, the next one available. So Omaha was the 36th club but was assigned the charter number 37.

I am attaching a one-page document that I send out often to Rotarians who want to know what their club number means. I hope this helps!

Francine Keyes
Reference Archivist
Rotary International Archives

The following historic list was provided by Robin Dillow of the RI Archives

The “WHEN ISSUED” dates here refer to the issuance of the new charter for the “International Association of Rotary Clubs” and this list then must include all the “Charter Clubs” of the new association. Those who were charted on June 2, 1913 that is.

LIST OF CLUBS & CHARTER DATES THROUGH 1915

Name	Number		Date		Date		1910
			Organised		Issued		Population
Chicago, Ill	1		Feb..23.1905		June 2.1913		2,185,283
San Francisco, Cal	2		Nov. 13.1908		” “		416,912
Oakland, Cal	3		Feb — 1909		” “		150,174
Seattle, Wash	4		June15 1909		” “		237,194
Los Angeles, Cal	5		June 251909		” “		319,198
New York City, NY	6		Aug..241909		” “		4,766,883
Boston, Mass	7		Dec. 7.1909		” “		670,585
Tacoma, Wash	8		Feb 3.1910		” “		83,743
Minneapolis, Minn	9		Feb.18.1910		” “		301,408
Saint Paul, Minn	10		Feb.19.1910		” “		214,764
Saint Louis, Mo	11		Feb.22.1910		” “		687,029
New Orleans, La	12		” “		” “		339,075
Kansas City, Mo	13		May.15.1910		” “		248,381
Lincoln, Nebr.	14		June. 6.1910		” “		43,973
Portland, Ore.	15		May.25.1910		” “		207,214
Detroit, Mich.	16		July 25.1910		” “		465,766
Cincinnati, Ohio	17		Nov. 26.1910		” “		363,561
Cleveland, Ohio	18		Apr 26.1911		” “		560,663
Philadelphia, Pa.	19		July 30.1911		” “		1,549,008
Pittsburgh, Pa.	20		June 3.1911		“: “		583,905
Spokane, Wash.	21		July 17.1911		” “		104,402
Providence, RI	22		” “		” “		224,326
Harrisburg, Pa.	23		” “		” “		64,168
Salt Lake City, Utah	24		July.12.1911		” “		92,777
Duluth, Minn.	25		July 17.1911		” “		78,466
Hartford, Conn.	26		July.14.1911		” “		98,915
Des Moines, Iowa	27		Aug. 1.1911		” “		86,368
Buffalo, N.Y.	28		Aug.22.1911		” “		423,715
Oklahoma City, Okla.	29		Oct.. 7.1911		” “		64,205
Wichita, Kans.	30		Nov.18.1911		” “		52,450
Denver, Colo.	31		Dec 9.1911		” “		213,381
Saint Joseph, Mo.	32		Feb. 1.1912		” “		77,403
San Diego, Cal.	33		Feb. 5.1912		” “		39,578
Davenport, Iowa	34		Feb.16.1912		” “		43,028
Winnipeg, Man., Canada	35		Apr. 13.1912		” “
Rochester, N.Y.	36		Apr. 5.1912		” “		218,149
Omaha, Nebr.	37		Mar. 1 .1912		” “		124,095
Columbus, Ohio	38		Mar. 5. 1912		June. 2.1913		181,511
Dallas, Tex.	39		Apr.19 1912		” “		92,104
Superior, Wis.	40		May 1.1912		” “		40,384
Jacksonville, Fla.	41		” “		” “		57,699
Syracuse, N.Y.	42		” “		” “		137,249
Pueblo, Colo.	43		June 1.1912		” “		43,747
Toledo, Ohio	44		” “		” “		168,497
Louisville, Ky.	45		July 23.1912		” “		223,928
Washington, D.C.	46		Aug. 1.1912		” “		331,069
Dayton, Ohio	47		” “		” “		116,577
Baltimore, Md.	48		” “		” “		558,485
Newark, N.J.	49		” “		” “		347,469
London, England	50		” “		” “
Worcester, Mass.	51		July. 1.1912		” “		145,986
San Antonio, Tex.	52		Nov.. 1.1912		” “		96,614
Houston, Tex.	53		” “		” ”		78,800
Sioux City, Iowa	54		Dec.. 1.1912		” “		47,826
Toronto, Ont., Canada	55		Mar. 1 1913		” “
Birmingham, Ala.	56		” “		” “		132,685
Milwaukee, Wis.	57		” “		” “		373,657
Indianapolis, Ind.	58		” “		” “		233,650
Camden, N.J.	59		Apr. 1.1913		” “		94,538
Glasgow, Scotland	60		” “		” “
Vancouver, B.C., Canada		61		May. 1.1913		” “
Edinburgh, Scotland	62		” “		” “
Austin, Tex.	63		” “		” “		29,860
Binghamton, N.Y.	64		” “		” “		48,443
Dublin, Ireland	65		” “		” “
Manchester, England	66		” “		” “
Belfast, Ant., Nthn Ireland	67		” “		” “
Albany, N.Y.	68		” “		” “		100,253
Richmond, Va.	69		” “		” “		127,628
Paterson, N.J.	70		June. 1.1913		” “		125,600
Madison, Wis.	71		” “		” “		25, 531
Beaumont, Tex.	72		” “		” “		20,640
Galveston, Tex.	73		” “		” “		36,981
Waco, Tex	74		” “		” “		26,425
Fort Worth, Tex.	75		July. 1.1913		” “		73,312
Peoria, Ill.	76		” “		” “		66,950
Grand Rapids, Mich.	77		Aug. 1.1913		Aug 1 1913		112,571
Joliet, Ill.	78		” “		” “		34,670
Atlanta, Ga.	79		” “		” “		154,839
Liverpool, Lancs, England		80		” “		” “
Halifax, N.S., Canada	81		” “		” “
Hamilton, Ont, Canada	82		” “		” “
Springfield, Ill.	83		” “		” “		51,678
Terre Haute, Ind.	84		” “		Oct 1.1913		58,157
Montreal, Que., Canada	85		Oct. 1.1913		” “
Montgomery, Ala.	86		Nov. 1.1913		Nov. 1.1913		36,136
Muskogee, Okla.	87		” “		” “		23.278
Reading, Pa.	88		Dec 1.1913		Dec 1.1913		96,071
New Castle, Va.	89		” “		Jan. 1.1914		36,280
Victoria, B.C., Canada	90		Jan. 1.1914		” “
Eerie, Pa.	91		” “		” “		66,525
Stockton, Cal.	92		Feb. 1.1914		Feb. 1.1914		23,253
Saginaw, Mich.	93		” “		” “		50,510
Nashville, Tenn.	94		” “		” “		110,364
Savannah, Ga	95		” “		” “		65,064
Memphis, Tenn.	96		” “		” “		131,105
Sacramento, Cal.	97		” “		” “		44,696
Springfield, Ohio	98		Mar. 1.1914		Mar 1.1914		46,921
Little Rock, Ark.	99		” “		” “		45,941
Phoenix, Ariz.	100		” “		” “		11,134
Scranton, Pa.	101		” “		” “		129,867
Evansville, Ind.	102		” “		” “		69,647
Chattanooga, Tenn	103		” “		” “		44,604
Macon, Ga.	104		” “		” “		40,665
South Bend, Ind.	105		” “		” “		53,684
Brooklyn, N.Y.	106		Apr. 1.1914		Apr. 1.1914		1,634,351
Akron, Ohio	107		” “		” “		69,067
Birmingham, England	108		” “		” “
Shreveport, La.	109		” “		” “		28,015
Cleburne, Tex.	110		” “				10,364
Valentine, Tex.	111		” “		” “		10,482
Rock Island, Ill.	112		May 1 1914		May 1.1914		24,335
Calgary, Alberta, Canada		113		” “		” “
Norfolk, Va.	114		” “		” “		67,452
McKeesport, Pa.	115		” “		” “		42,694
San Jose. Cal.	116		” “		” “		28,946
Tampa, Fla.	117		June 1.1914		June 1.1914		37,782
Cedar Rapids, Iowa	118		” “		” “		32,811
El Paso, Tex..	119		” “		” “		39,273
Mobile, Ala.	120		” “		” “		51,521
Allentown, Pa.	121		” “				51,913
Troy, N.Y.	122		” “		” “		76,813
Roanoke, Va.	123		” “		” “		36,874
Raleigh, N.C.	124 .		Aug. 1.1914		Aug. 1.1914		19,218
Corpus Christi, Tex.	125		” “		” “		8,222
St. John, N.B., Canada	126		” “		” “
Rome, Ga.	127		Oct 1 1914		Oct. 1.1914		12,099
Ottawa, Ill.	128		” “		” “		9,535
Trenton, N.J.	129		” “		” “		96,815
Topeka, Kans.	130		Nov 1.1914		Nov 1.1914		43,684
Moline, Ill.	131		” “		” “		24,199
Watertown, N.Y.	132		Dec 1.1914		Dec 1.1914		26,730
Galesburg, Ill.	133		” “		” “		22,089
Bay City, Mich.	134		Jan 1.1915		Jan 1.1915.		45,166
Piqua, Ohio	135		” “		” “		13,388
Wausau, Wis.	136		” “		” “		16,560
Youngstown, Ohio	137		Feb 1.1915		Feb 1.1915		79,066
Augusta, Ga.	138		” “		“		41,040
Paducah, Ky.	139		” “		” “		22,760
Butte, Mont.	140		” “		” “		39,165
Atlantic City, N.J.	141		” “		” “		46,150
Kalamazoo, Mich.	142		Apr 1.1915		Apr 1.1915		39,437
Lima, Ohio	143		” “		” “		30,508
Jackson, Miss.	144		” “		” “		21,262
Tulsa, Okla.	145		” “		“		18.182
Canton, Ohio	146		” “		” “		50,217
Port Arthur, Tex.	147		” “		” “		7,663
Wilmington, Del.	148		” “		” “		87,411
Easton, Pa.	149		” “		” “		28,523
Wilmington, N.C.	150		” “		” “		25,748
Vincennes, Ind.	151				” “		14,895
Asheville, N.C.	152				” “		18,762
Council Bluffs, Iowa	153				” “		29,292
Fort Wayne, Ind.	154				” “		63,933
Wheeling, W.Va.	155				May 1.1915		41,641
Zanesville, Ohio	156				” “		28,036
Pottsville, Pa.	157				” “		20,236
Quincy, Ill.	158				” “		36,587
Bloomington, Ill.	159				” “		25,900
Utica, N.Y.	160				” “		74,419
Highland Park, Mich.	161				” “		4,120
Pensacola, Fla.	162				June. 1.1915		22,982
Auburn, N.Y.	163				” “		34,668
McAlester, Okla.	164				” “		11,774
Rogerstown, Md	165				” “		16,507
Ithaca, N.Y.	166				” “		14,802
Haverhill, Mass.	167				” “		44,115
Waterloo, Iowa	168				July . 1.1915		26,693
Huntington, W.Va.	169				” “		31,161
Honolulu, Hawaii	170				” “		52,163
Morris, Ill.	171				” “		4,563
Springfield, Mass.	172				” “		88,926
Williamsport, Pa.	173				” “		31,860
Kankakee, Ill.	174				” “		13,986
Clinton, Iowa	175				” “		25,557
Lancaster, Pa	176				” “		47,227
Portland, Me	177				Sept. 1.1915		58,571
Owensboro, Ky.	178				” “		16,011
London, Ont., Canada	179				” “
Decatur, Ill.	180				” “		31,140
Knoxville, Tenn.	181				” “		36,346
Lexington, Ky	182				Oct. 1 1915		35,099
Sioux Falls, S.D.	183				” “		14,094
Parsons, Kans.	184				” “		12,463
Marshalltown, Iowa	185				” “		13,374
Burlington, Iowa	186				” “		24,324
Battle Creek, Mich.	187				Nov. 1 1915		25,267
Danville, Ill.	188				” “		27,871
Hutchinson, Kans.	189				” “		16,364
Bartlesville, Okla.	190				Dec. 1 1915		6,181
Charleston, W.Va.	191				” “		22,996
Iowa City, Iowa	192				” “		10,091
New Albany, Ind.	193				” “		20,629

EXPLANATORY NOTE

London, England #50 was formed by Arthur Sheldon of the Chicago club #1 and an English associate in 1911 Dublin, Ireland #65 and Belfast Ireland #67 were formed in 1911 by William Stuart Morrow, formerly of the San Francisco club #2, who also formed Glasgow, Scotland #60 and Edinburgh, Scotland #62 in 1912 These clubs were not chartered until December 2, 1913 and the delay is explained by RGHF Senior Historian Basil Lewis that their formation of some RIBI clubs was sometimes not reported to Chicago for some years.

This chart was prepared by RGHF board member Norm Winterbottom, New Zealand 6 July 2007, from original documents from the Rotary International Archives.

Rotary’s First 100 Clubs