Member Spotlight: Get to know these two great Members.
Lightbridge Academy in Matawan
Lightbridge Academy Matawan is NOW OPEN and taking enrollments for our current school year and Summer Camp!

New Monmouth County & Middlesex County parents are welcome to schedule an afterhours or virtual tour and discover why our parents experience peace of mind knowing that their children are receiving the best possible care.

Our state-of-the-art child care center has been scrubbed and sanitized from top to bottom with enhanced health and safety procedures now in place. We look forward to meeting you and your precious little one!
 
Please call us at 732-297-5320 or email us at Matawan_NJ@lightbridgeacademy.com for more information about our quality early childhood education program for Infants, Toddlers, Preschool, Pre-K, Kindergarten & School Age children! "

Learn about our Open House Jan. 25 - 29


Woman’s Club of Matawan
105 years of community service.
Beginnings:

The call to form a Club was made by lawyer, Beatrice Stern who welcomed 6 ladies to her home on October 9, 1915.

A committee was appointed to prepare bylaws, the object, “to found and maintain an organized center of cooperation among the women of Matawan”. At the next meeting Florine Van Wickle was elected president and speakers were invited to give suggestions for improvements to the town. Membership at the end of the first year was 123.
A Proud History of Accomplishments:

During its 105 year history the club has been credited with playing a prominent role in civic betterment campaigns including: 

  • starting the Public Health Association
  • sponsoring the Parents Teachers League (PTA)
  • securing a school nurse and attendance officer
  • assisting the Library with a member serving as Librarian
  • supporting the YMCA; sponsoring the first Girl Scout troop
  • purchasing items for the High School
  • procuring dental equipment for a dental clinic in the School
  • awarding scholarships and bringing cultural programs to the town.

The club also sponsored the first Christmas tree lighting celebration, clean up days, flower marts, home and window decorating contests and food baskets for the needy.

As leaders in the park movement in Matawan, members helped create a Memorial Park. They donated a granite bench and placed a sundial in memory of Elizabeth Clark, the only woman from Matawan to serve overseas in World War 1.

The club also built the steps and landing at the foot of Park Ave on Lake Matawan as well as planting shrubs and dogwoods in Terhune Park. In 1937 through the efforts of President Olive Hunt, markers were secured for historic areas in town.

During both World Wars members served as volunteers as well as during the Spanish Flu pandemic. In the eighties and nineties, the club raised and donated money for the library expansion, Bayshore Hospital, YMCA family services program and played a major role in the town’s tri-centennial celebration. The club addressed town safety issues and sponsored a variety of community programs. 
The Meeting Place

Meetings were held first in the homes of members, in the High School Auditorium, the American Legion Hall, the First Aid building and two Church Halls. 

In 1921 a building fund was established. In 1962, the Lecture Hall, the only remaining structure of the First Presbyterian Church that burnt down Christmas Night 1955, became available for sale.

It was purchased in August 1963. Edna Schock donated the money to purchase the adjoining lot in 1966. Funds for house maintenance were raised mainly through Bazaars and weekly Duplicate Bridge.

Meals, special programs, theatre trips and rentals are the main source of income for the house today. In the summer of 2005 the meeting room was given a fresh look thanks to an Eagle Scout project and in 2006 as part of a Girl Scout Gold Award project, the parking lot was graveled. Several Community groups and many members have also donated items and money to help restore the building and fence the property. Maintenance of a 145 year-old historic house continues to be a concern.

The small group of women who started the Woman’s Club of Matawan made it possible for those coming after to serve the community as well as be part of a larger influential organization – the New Jersey Federation of Women’s Clubs and the General Federation of Women’s Club. A proud history of accomplishment!

For Club information and information on renting the hall, please contact:
Woman's Club of Matawan.
199 Jackson Street Matawan, NJ TEL: 732- 705-7638
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