Mrs. Fredrick Mears and other women organized the Anchorage Woman’s Club in 1915 with the specific goal of establishing a school for the children of the workers building the Alaska Railroad.

The women were successful in building the Pioneer School House, the first schoolhouse in Anchorage.

It is community service organization with programs in Arts, Conservation, Education, Home Life, International Outreach, and Public Issues.

[2] In 1964 the AWC worked to preserve the Pioneer School House after it survived an earthquake.

[3] The AWC continues to manage the Pioneer School House, now owned by the city of Anchorage listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places.