Historic marker program celebrates local Suffragist Alice Scott Abbott
To celebrate the centennial of the passing of the 19th Amendment, the National Collaborative for Women’s History Sites (NCWHS) and the William G. Pomeroy Foundation have partnered to launch a new historic marker program commemorating the history of women’s suffrage in the United States. American Association of University Women (AAUW) Flagler County Branch spearheaded efforts to have local Suffragist Alice Scott Abbott added to the digital map for the National Votes for Women Trail, the Florida Women’s Hall of Fame, and to have Abbott’s final resting place recognized and honored with a commemorative marker by the William G. Pomeroy Foundation.
AAUW Flagler and the Flagler County Historical Society will host a dedication ceremony to unveil the marker at 11 a.m. on Saturday, Aug. 27, at Espanola Cemetery, 3570 CR 205, Bunnell. A reception beginning at noon at the Holden House Museum, 204 E. Moody Blvd., Bunnell, will follow the dedication.
In addition to honoring Mrs. Abbott, AAUW Flagler is working with the Flagler County Historical Society to recognize Flagler’s women who qualified and registered to vote for the historic November 1920 General Election by identifying and marking their final resting place at Espanola Cemetery.
Historic markers awarded through the program are highlighting sites on the National Votes for Women Trail (NVWT). Sponsored by the National Collaborative for Women’s History Sites, the National Votes for Women Trail seeks to recognize and celebrate the enormous diversity of people and groups active in the struggle for women’s suffrage. The Trail consists of two parts: 1) a database with digital map and 2) a program of historic markers for about 250 women’s suffrage sites across the country, funded by the William G. Pomeroy Foundation and the federal Women’s Suffrage Centennial Commission.
The Pomeroy Foundation, which is a private, grant-making foundation based in Syracuse, New York, is providing grants through its National Women’s Suffrage Marker Grant Program to recognize historically significant people, places or things across the U.S. instrumental to women’s suffrage, which was a national movement involving a diversity of women and men from all walks of life.
About AAUW Flagler County Branch: AAUW Flagler is a branch of the national organization American Association of University Women. AAUW has been empowering women since 1881. One of more than 1,000 branches, AAUW Flagler began in 1984 when area women recognized a community need to support the goals of higher education and advance issues for women. AAUW Flagler proudly reinforces and sustains educational goals for middle and high school students, continuing education professionals, and undergraduate and graduate university scholars through an array of grants and scholarships. Visit flaglercounty-fl.aauw.net/
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Historic marker program celebrates local Suffragist Alice Scott Abbott
