The Portia Club is a women's club based in Payette, Idaho. Its clubhouse building, at 225 N. 9th St. in Payette, was built in 1927 and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2010. The club was formed in 1895. It was named for

Portia Portia may refer to: Biology * ''Portia'' (spider), a genus of jumping spiders *'' Anaea troglodyta'' or Portia, a brush-footed butterfly *Portia tree, a plant native to Polynesia Medication A form of birth control made of ethinylestradiol/lev ...

, (Republished at Portia Club's website) the beautiful and intelligent protagonist of Shakespeare's Merchant of Venice. "They may have started their club over a small tea party in 1895, but during the next twenty years they started the Payette City Library, funded Children's Free Health Clinics, organized the Payette Apple Blossom Festival, sponsored lectures on laws that affected women and children, held debates on women's issues and spread the virtues of art and literature throughout the city of Payette, Idaho." It joined the Idaho Federation of Women's Clubs in 1904 and later the General Federation of Women's Clubs. Fundraising for a building started in 1919. Eventually more than $4000 was accumulated, and

Fruitland, Idaho Fruitland is a city along the Snake and Payette rivers in Payette County, Idaho, United States. It lies along U.S. Route 95 in the Treasure Valley of southwest Idaho, about west of Boise on the border with Oregon. It is part of the Ontari ...

architect I.C. Whitley was hired to design it. He designed it in Spanish Colonial Revival style, which the architect had learned about in trip to southern California. (includes excerpts from NRHP nomination document) In 2005, the historic building was acquired by a

501c3 A 501(c)(3) organization is a United States corporation, trust, unincorporated association or other type of organization exempt from federal income tax under section 501(c)(3) of Title 26 of the United States Code. It is one of the 29 types of 501 ...

nonprofit, The Friends of the Portia Club, Inc., formed to restore and preserve it. It now serves as a community center and is available for rental.

References

External links

Portia Club
official website Women's clubs in the United States Women's club buildings National Register of Historic Places in Payette County, Idaho Spanish Colonial Revival architecture in the United States Buildings and structures completed in 1927 Clubhouses on the National Register of Historic Places in Idaho History of women in Idaho Buildings and structures in Payette County, Idaho {{Idaho-NRHP-stub