When the members of the Clarksville Women’s Chamber of Commerce came up with ideas to improve and provide for the community, there was no stopping them.
In the 1950s and 1960s, the organization owned the “Community Building” on North Front Street. The building had been previously used for many years as the gymnasium for Clarksville school basketball, festivals, school functions, men’s and women’s town team basketball, banquets, and other events.
During the late 1950s, the organization managed the building as a movie theater. Members did all the work: opening and closing the venue, selling tickets, popping and selling popcorn, acting as ushers, cleaning the building, etc. Admission was ten cents a person; the movies were underwritten by a state grant. The theater closed when the state grant ran out.
In the early 1960s, the building was opened as a skating rink, drawing folks from several surrounding communities on weekend evenings. It was an extremely popular place on Saturday nights.
In the 1960s, the Kamp Togs textile factory, which was a major employer in Clarksville, was destroyed by a fire. The factory was soon reopened in the community building, temporarily saving dozens of jobs. However, the community building burned as well in a few months. (It was never proven, but union organizers were suspected of setting both fires.)
As owners of the building, the Women’s Chamber of Commerce received $5,000 in insurance proceeds from the fire. With most of the active members at or beyond retirement age, and their primary asset gone, the organization voted to dissolve in 1970.
At dissolution, the members formally created a Trust with the $5,000 insurance proceeds. The trust funds were to be used for specific projects for Greenwood Cemetery, managed by Trustees. It has funded several projects over the years, including the front gate, road improvements, tree removal, and gravestone repairs.
The invested trust funds made one final contribution to Greenwood: a permanent memorial honoring 597 souls buried in unmarked graves for over 97 years.