The Galesburg Rotary Club was started locally on April 29, 1914 by twenty of the young aggressive leaders of the city. On May 13, 1914, a formal application was made for affiliation with Rotary International. The Rotary International rules at that time did not permit clubs in cities as small as Galesburg. After several months of convincing negotiations by the charter members, our club Charter was received on December 1, 1914 naming Galesburg as Club No. 133.

Galesburg became the first Rotary Club ever established in a city having a population under 25,000 people. The same enthusiastic attitude brought immediate success and rapid growth to the Galesburg Club, whose members have provided leadership in the Galesburg community since that time.