The Thursday Club of Saint Paul was formed on May 14, 1894 during a meeting held at the home of Mrs. Henry P. Upham. The purpose of the club was to provide a forum for young women to engage in literary study. Mrs. Clinton J. (Carrie Haskins) Backus, an instructor of history, literature, and mathematics at the Baldwin Seminary, helped to organize the club. She also served as its director from 1894 until her resignation in 1909 when she was made an honorary president.

The club was organized with 25 charter members and its first meeting was held on October 4, 1894. Charter members included Lucy Ames, Caroline Beaumont, Nellie Beardslee, Marguerite Blakeley, Mrs. William Canby, Annie Carpenter, Mary Clark, Laura Dawson, Mrs. J. P. Elmer, Emma Gilfillan, Josephine Kalman, Gertrude Kirk, Louise Lindeke, Charlotte Meade, Julia Gilman Noyes, Bertha Robbins, Cornelia Saunders, Mrs. McNeil V. Seymour, Grace Upham, Laura Winter, and Jane Wood. The secretary's first annual report given on February 7, 1895 identified a membership of 102. Member dues were $3.00 and two-thirds of the total was paid to the director. In 1896 the Club became a member of the fourth district of the Minnesota Federation of Women's Clubs.

Meetings were held the third Thursday of each month from October through May for the first five years. Beginning in 1899 the club met on the second Thursday of each month from October through April. Typical meeting programs included a paper presented by a club member known as the "essayist of the day" on a selected topic. In later years guest speakers were included on programs. The club's first course of study focused on the poets of the 19th century. That course expanded during the 1899 club year to include American history and focused on philanthropic and social institutions and movements during 1902/1903. Special interest sections were added in 1919 that focused on such topics as music, drama, travel, American art, civics, and current topics. These sections met in addition to the regular monthly meetings of the club.

In 1904 the club began what became a long tradition of civic and philanthropic charity. During that year Mrs. William T. McMurran coordinated a project that resulted in the planting of 14,000 fruit trees by schoolchildren at Oakland Terrace Park and at the Phalen Park, Lafayette, Davis, and Shaeffer schools. A standing social and civic committee formed during the 1908/1909 club year continued until 1978. Subsequent projects included support for the St. Paul public library, the Neighborhood House Association, the Free Medical Dispensary, and the Red Cross. During the second world war the club supported war relief organizations and women's activities through the state's civil defense program.

Historical information was taken from the collection.