Friday Club of Jefferson, the oldest Federated club in Greene County and one of the oldest in the state, was founded by eight local women on January 8, 1888 as the Ladies Reading Circle. The name was changed to Friday Club in 1899. The organization was originally both a service group and a study club, but has existed primarily as a study group since 1914, the year the Jefferson Woman's Club was organized. In 1899 Friday Club and Culture Club, with help from others, held a book social where admittance was a book. The 450 books donated became the start of the first public library, located on the north side of the square on the second floor of 202 E. State Street in 1901. The civic-minded Friday Club continues to support local projects, and an ill-fated fountain given to the new library built in 1904 remains part of club lore.