There is no doubt that women had a role in progressive reform a century ago, despite their lack of vote. However, it may not be so clear what the nature of this reform effort was. This article suggests that women were highly organized in women's clubs that served as a major organ of change in society, and that they had a great impact on education at all levels in the progressive era. Women in the nineteenth century had long been active in organizations. Even though almost all women before the Civil War were barred from suffrage and for the most part from employment in the professions or business, they achieved excellent results in the "women's sphere" of home, church, and charity. Progressive stirrings began to affect the women's clubs of most states during the 1890s, including Delaware. Emalea Pusey Warner became a primary leader in Wilmington when she led a small group of women to found the New Century Club (NCC) in 1889, which elected her its third president in 1891. The NCC of Wilmington was a charter member of the 1898 formation of the General Federation of Women's Clubs of Delaware, for which she became the first president. The Wilmington NCC and the state Federation led an onslaught of progressive reforms including those concerning education at all levels.