This silk bannerette depicting a thistle was created at the expense of then-President William Meiklejohn, which he donated to the Society on October 19, 1925.

This silk bannerette depicting a thistle was created at the expense of then-President William Meiklejohn, which he donated to the Society on October 19, 1925.

Our History

On October 18, 1923, a letter arrived at the homes of "a few of the prominent Scotsmen residents in the Blackstone Valley," inviting them to a meeting to discuss formation of an association.  and so on October 23, thirteen of them met at the Pawtucket Businessmen's Association to consider "the advisability of forming a St. Andrews's Club or Society to promote fellowship and the preservation of Scottish culture among men of Scottish birth or descent in Pawtucket and vicinity."

Their names read like a Who's Who of Rhode Island manufacturing, retailing, politics, the law, education and religion of the day.  Many were Scots-born, most first-generation Americans.  They agreed to create such an organization, formalized a name, elected a President, six Vice-Presidents and six committee Chairmen, adopted a statement of purpose, and levied a dues structure of $1.00 per year.  Word of the new association swept through the close-knit Rhode Island Scots community, and by the end of 1924, barely a year from its inception, the St. Andrew's Society of Rhode Island boasted 349 members. 

WWII years were both exhilarating and debilitating for the Society.  Members plunged into war work, and some departed for military service.  By 1946, thoughts that the war's end would return the Society to full vigor began to erode.  The Society's membership was aging:  90% dated its membership from the late 1920s and 1930s.  Sons and grandsons showed little interest in the Society as they left Rhode Island for school, the military, or to pursue careers.  The RI Society appealed to other Societies throughout America.  The answer:  Involve women!  Heretofore, they'd been denied full membership.  Now that was about to change... a change decidedly for the better.  Since their full induction into the Society in 1992, women have taken vital leadership positions in virtually all of the Society's activities.  Currently, 95 families are on the rolls, and new members are welcomed each year.

Today, love of Scotland, its nobility, its unique place in the family of nations, its victories and its tragedies burn as warmly in the hearts of the Society's present membership as it did in those of that band of Scots - born immigrants who founded the Society so long ago.  Their legacy continues to inspire us.