![Four beige colored books with string binding standing upright on wood easel. All say "Musical Art Club" and the first three have a small logo of an "A' and "C" inside a capital "M." The fonts are varying but all proper. "Little Falls, Minnesota is in italics beneath the first three programs. Below that are the dates in this order: 1921-1922; 1920-1921; and 1918-1919/1919-1920 [both on one].](https://morrisoncountyhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/musical-art-club-covers-scaled.jpg)
In fall 1911, Little Falls music teacher Mrs. Maybelle Brannan gathered over eighty local women to organize a club dedicated to promoting “interest in music and the culture of musical art in Little Falls” through lectures and concerts by club members. Soon, the organization grew in membership and popularity, becoming a cornerstone of the community. Thanks to the family of former club members, we house both the annual club programs detailing the a year of programming, the subjects of this Collections Carousel.
The Musical Art Club began with only four committees–vocal, instrumental, special entertainment, and membership. Besides membership, each group was responsible for organizing and performing in the public recitals. During its first few years, more sections were established for club administration or additional programming. For instance, the literary committee was formed in 1912 by librarian Jenny Lind Blanchard, who served as its chairperson for several years.
There were two significant membership levels: Active members, who took roles in committees or as music instructors and student members who were minors taking lessons in voice or instrument from active members. Student members were required to participate in recitals, whether that was musical performance or lecture, while the active members had to arrange up to 12 programs a year. Every member would receive the yearly program and local newspapers also advertised the events to the general public.
In 1919, Mrs. Maud Moon Weyerhaeuser, a founding member of the club, helped to finance and present the group with their own home for meetings, instruction, and productions to take place. Maud Moon Weyerhaeuser Hall, located at 70 Northeast First Avenue in Little Falls, was her final gift to the community, as the Weyerhaeuser family would soon depart from Little Falls upon the closure of the Pine Tree Lumber Company.
The Musical Art Club dissolved in 1950, after 30 years of dedication to sharing knowledge of musical art through singing, instrumentation, and speeches to the Little Falls community. Local women bringing artists and educators to Central Minnesota so that their neighbors would have the same access to “further development and self-improvement along musical, literary, and scientific lines.”
