The San José Woman's Club was formed on December 3, 1894, when a group of nine women gathered to discuss the possibility of forming a club devoted to women's issues. Membership grew steadily to 81 members by 1902, leading the Club to purchase and renovate their first club house in 1906. The club was incorporated as a non-profit in 1909, with meetings held every Saturday afternoon at 2:30 P.M.

The Club was open to all women without discriminating in regards to religion, economic level, ethnic background or education. To accomplish their goals of civic improvement, cultural enhancement and charitable betterment, the San José Woman's Club was organized into smaller groups, or sections. Each section focused on a single aspect of club work. Members were encouraged to join one or more sections to get to know other women in the community. Each section kept a membership roster, financial records and minutes of their meetings and could limit their membership in order to keep the group from getting too large.

The Club organized itself around a social season that began in September of each year and ended in June. Meetings were not held in summer. Highlights of these social seasons included a trip by the First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt, Countess Alexandra Tolstoy and Lotte Golsar in 1939, as well as various fashion shows and luncheons.

In addition to providing a social base for groups of women to join together for civic and community improvement, the Club also provided a venue for women who had training in the arts but lacked an appropriate forum for their talents. Musicians, singers, poets, dramatists, writers, painters and other artists were invited to share their talents with appreciative friends.