A Brief History of the Community Center

In 1955, Whitmore Improvement Club, (later to become Whitmore Community Center) was established with the long range vision of building a central meeting place for the community. In 1993, an actual board of directors was elected and a charter was formed with a set of by-laws. In 1999, 2.76 acres of land were generously donated by the T.B. Walker Foundation for this purpose. The Whitmore Community Center became incorporated and was established as a nonprofit organization, and was then able to meet the requirements to take possession of the donated land.

Whitmore Community Center has been pleased to receive grants from The McConnell Foundation, Shasta County Community Development Block Grants, Pacific Gas and Electric, Shasta Regional Community Foundation and Sierra Pacific Industries. These funds, plus the many fundraising events held within the community and the generous donations of many individuals and businesses, enabled us to hire an architect to draw up plans for the building. A well, septic system and fire suppression system were completed, with much of the work done by volunteers. After a bidding process, a contractor for the building was selected in the spring of 2004. Unfortunately, the project was delayed when the contractor withdrew due to the rising cost of steel. The bidding process started again and in April, 2005, MDS Construction was selected to erect the steel building, which arrived in Whitmore in June, 2005. The exterior shell, insulation, heating and cooling systems were completed in July, 2007, with contractor and volunteer labor. The interior was finished and volunteers tiled the kitchen and bathrooms. The Center received its certificate of occupancy on October 20, 2007, without a completed kitchen. With a grant received from Shasta Regional Community Foundation in 2008, the kitchen was completed. Tables and chairs were purchased and the multipurpose room floor was sealed and finished.

In 2009, Whitmore Community Center held its first annual meeting in its very own building. It was a day to remember. There’s no telling what a town can do when it puts its mind to it! Whitmore will forever be remembered as “The Little Town That Could”!