Minerva Parker Nichols was an architect from the United States who in 1889 became the first woman to operate an independent architectural practice in the United States. She designed at least eighty known buildings, which included homes, schools, churches, and clubhouses.

The New Century Club of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania was founded in 1877. It was one of the first women's clubs in the United States, and included professional women as well as women active in women's rights and the abolition movement.