Historical marker for women's suffrage unveiled on Capitol grounds
A historical marker for women's suffrage in Oregon was unveiled Thursday on the east end of the State Capitol grounds, 111 years after the Oregon Legislature granted women the right to vote.
Oregon was one of 15 states to recognize women's suffrage rights before Congress passed the 19th Amendment.
The marker is part of a nationwide "Votes for Women" marker project launched in 2020 by The National Collaborative for Women's History Sites and the William G. Pomeroy Foundation commemorating the centennial of women's suffrage in the United States and putting historic sites on the map.
The Pomeroy Foundation committed to donating up to 250 markers, ideally five per state. The markers cost $1,140 each, according to the foundation.
This marker is the first in Oregon and No. 211 for the project.
Oregon's role in history
The markers have a similar look, 33 1/2 inches wide and 19 inches tall, made of cast aluminum, painted white with purple trim and inscription, and installed on a 7-foot-tall aluminum pole. But each has a unique inscription highlighting the significance of the location on the road to the 19th Amendment.
The inscription on the marker at the Oregon State Capitol reads:
VOTES FOR WOMEN
A DIVERSE COALITION SECURED VOTING RIGHTS FOR MANY OREGON WOMEN IN 1912 & RATIFICATION OF THE 19TH AMENDMENT HERE IN JANUARY 1920.
The struggle for suffrage in Oregon began in the 1870s. Abigail Scott Duniway was one of the earliest leaders as a lecturer, organizer, writer and editor. Her weekly newspaper, The New Northwest, was dedicated to women's issues and voting rights, and she devoted more than 40 years to the cause.
The issue appeared on the state ballot six times — 1884, 1900, 1906, 1908, 1910 and 1912 — and Oregon has the dubious distinction of defeating woman suffrage more times than any other state, according to the "Centennial Web Exhibit" on the Secretary of State website.
It was finally approved Nov. 5, 1912, by 52% of male voters. The results were 61,265 for and 57,104 against.
"Now that is persistence," Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum told the small crowd gathered in front of the marker with Capitol construction clatter in the background.
'Years of hard work fighting'
Persistence was a common theme among the speakers, many of them wearing white "Votes for Women" sashes.
Oregon First Lady Aimee Kotek Wilson referred to the state as a voting rights champion, with the highest voter turnout rate in the country last November.
"Creating the model voting system in the country doesn't happen overnight," Wilson said. "It can take years of hard work fighting for what you believe in to see meaningful progress. Thankfully, the pioneering women who led the suffrage movement signed on for a long fight."
Oregon Supreme Court Chief Justice Meagan A. Flynn reminded the crowd how the struggle for women extended to lawyers and judges.
"Despite the obstacles, our early women civic leaders forged a path that others cleared and widened," Flynn said. "I'm here because of the foundation laid by so many who came before."
One of the few Capitol memorials
The Oregon Women's History Consortium partnered with the Oregon Historical Society and the Oregon State Capitol Foundation to host the unveiling event, held July 6 to recognize the day in 1905 when national suffrage leader Susan B. Anthony unveiled a statue of Sacagawea at the Lewis and Clark Exhibition in Portland.
The National Woman Suffrage Association convention was held in Portland for the first time that year in conjunction with the exhibition, creating momentum for the Oregon movement.
The historical marker is on the east side of the Capitol, not far from the Circuit Rider statue and near the Rev. Jason Lee statue and Corinthian column segments pulled from the ashes of the old state house.
Votes for Women markers have been erected in a variety of locations across the county, including homes, women's club buildings, churches, and any place a significant person lived, organization organized or an event occurred related to helping women gain the vote and full citizenship.
Few, however, are on the grounds of current or former state capitols.
One is near the steps outside the Maine State House in Augusta. Two are at former state capitols turned museums in Little Rock, Arkansas, and Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
Pendleton to get next sign
The markers are part of the National Votes for Women Trail sponsored by the National Collaborative for Women's History Sites, with more than 2,400 sites on its database and digital map.
Janice Dilg, the Oregon state coordinator for the National Votes for Women Trail project, said Pendleton will get Oregon's second suffrage marker.
Dilg said that one will note how national and state suffragists traveled by train to the Pendleton Round-Up in 1912 before the women's suffrage ballot measure was up for a vote, giving speeches standing on the back seats of cars near the rodeo entrance.
Capi Lynn is a senior reporter for the Statesman Journal. Send comments, questions and tips to her at clynn@statesmanjournal.com or 503-399-6710. Follow her work on Twitter @CapiLynn and Facebook @CapiLynnSJ.
This article originally appeared on Salem Statesman Journal: Historical marker for women's suffrage unveiled on Capitol grounds
