The Pathfinder Club began in 1898 as a women's literary society in Morrilton, Conway County, Arkansas. Under the leadership of Mrs. Mary Stout, prominent women of the community joined together to form an organization devoted to promoting culture and education among the town's residents. One of their primary objectives was the formation of a lending library and after gathering a small collection of books, they were able to house them in the old Morrilton Presbyterian Church on Division Street. By 1915, the club began to pursue a Carnegie grant to build a permanent library, and their application had been strengthened by their possession of a collection of books originally owned by bibliophile William H. Porter. Porter, who spent most of his life and fortune buying rare books around the world, retired to Johnson County in the late nineteenth century to enjoy the 1,000 volumes he had collected. Believing himself about to die, Porter sold his collection to William S. Cazort, a Morrilton storekeeper. Cazort at first loaned the books to the Pathfinders, but in 1915 signed an agreement to sell the Porter collection to the club for $750, with the stipulation that he could repurchase them within ten years if he chose to. In 1916, the Carnegie grant was approved, and the new public library at Morrilton was constructed.

Aside from a few inactive years in the early 1920s, the Pathfinders have continued to function as a community improvement club up to the present day. Affiliated with the Arkansas Federation of Women's Clubs in 1899, the Pathfinders have been actively involved with programs suggested by the statewide organization and the National Federation of Women's Clubs. These activities have included Red Cross drives, town beautification efforts, and crime prevention programs, among many others.