Tales of Christmas Past: The Philomathean Club of Stockton

San Joaquin County has a rich history of community organizations celebrating the holidays and supporting the community with charitable enterprises for children. In early Stockton, one of the most well-known and beloved community events for children during the holiday season was the Philomathean Club’s annual Christmas Tree Party, where hundreds of young whippersnappers from working-class neighborhoods were treated to toys, a hot meal and an entertainment program. The event took place annually from 1913 through the 1930s and was a fixture of the philanthropic circuit of the era.

The Philomathean Club of Stockton was a powerful institution in the late 19th and early 20th century Stockton. Founded in 1893 as a reading group for women, the club was a place for upwardly mobile women to network, attend speaking programs, and organize politically. The club was highly influential in organizing for women’s suffrage in California in 1911, and numerous members were known for their influence in local charity and politics. Between 1910 and 1912, members of the club famously raised funds for the construction of a building to house the club, which was completed in February 1912. Upon completion of construction, one of the club’s first initiatives was to brainstorm the development of an events calendar. Within a year, the idea for a children’s Christmas Tree Party was born.

The first Philomathean Christmas Tree party took place on December 17, 1913, after a year of planning. The event went off without a hitch, and 200 children from across the city and from surrounding towns came to see a Christmas tree, have a turkey lunch, watch a Christmas play and take home presents. By 1917, the event had grown to an attendance of 600 children and was a firm fixture of the local youth calendar. In 1922, the local papers reported the event’s attendance was so great that the crowds caused traffic on nearby El Dorado Street.

That year, philomathean Emily Dodge led hundreds of children in singing “O Christmas Tree” and a raucous rendition of “Santa Claus is Coming to Town.” Girls were given dolls and gowns, while boys were given games, bags of marbles and tops. Children were also sent home with bags of apples and peanuts, while 325 bags of candy were passed out as children left.

In 1922, worried about the event’s scale, the club introduced innovations including tickets to prevent overcrowding and the contracting of the Stockton Electric Railway to bring children in special Christmas Cars to the event, leaving from streetcar stations on Ophir (Airport) and San Joaquin Streets. The event would continue to work with Stockton Electric through the 1930s and was a much-remarked-about scene in the local papers. By the 1940s, the event evolved into a fundraiser for needy women in the community and shifted from a Christmas tree to a Santa Claus theme.
Today, major community events such as the Festival of Trees, Parade of Lights and dozens of Christmas and holiday galas across the county are held to support the community. These events are part of a hundred-year-old tradition of holiday celebrations in San Joaquin County. It’s worth looking back at previous events to realize our contributions today are part of a local heritage that continues to the present.