MC 598: Morrilton Pathfinder Club RecordsThe collection consists of minutes, newspaper clippings, literary productions, financial records, legal documents, correspondence, photographs, inventories, and scrapbooks arranged in nine series. The Pathfinder Club began in 1898 as a women's literary society in Morrilton, Conway County, Arkansas. Under the leadership of Mrs. Mary Stout, prominent women of the community joined together to form an organization devoted to promoting culture and education among the town's residents. One of their primary objectives was the formation of a lending library and after gathering a small collection of books, they were able to house them in the old Morrilton Presbyterian Church on Division Street. By 1915, the club began to pursue a Carnegie grant to build a permanent library, and their application had been strengthened by their possession of a collection of books originally owned by bibliophile William H. Porter.