Last year, the Champlain Valley National Heritage Partnership (CVNHP) and scores of partners were poised to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution that gave women the right to vote.
The CVNHP awarded six grants totaling $71,150 for projects and programs that would highlight the Suffrage Movement. Unfortunately, the COVID-19 pandemic had different ideas. While some events continued—conducted at a “social” distance with limited participation—other interpretive programs, educational events, and celebrations were postponed, or re-configured for a digital audience.
We look to 2021 with guarded optimism in hopes that our partners can properly commemorate the generations-long, complex struggle that was the Suffrage Movement.
This year will be interesting indeed. Long before the pandemic hit, the CVNHP was preparing to highlight the Corridor of Commerce Interpretive Theme by focusing on Temperance, Prohibition and Smuggling in 2021. Serendipity may be at play because the Suffrage and Temperance movements were intertwined. The 18th Amendment, which prohibited the manufacture, sale, or transportation of intoxicating liquors, was added to the U.S. Constitution the year before women achieved the right to vote.
Here’s an update on what was accomplished in 2020 and what’s being planned for 2021:
Sarah Pell and the Pavilion Collections Project
A Stereoview of the Pavilion in the late 1800s. Photo: Fort Ticonderoga’s searchable digital collection.
Fort Ticonderoga recently completed a 2020 CVNHP Collections Grant focused on the Pavilion, a lake-side summer house built by William Ferris Pell who preserved Fort Ticonderoga in the early 19th century. The project furthered research on the collection of fine, decorative, and folk art from the Pavilion for future display while the National Historic Landmark building underwent historic restoration. Visit their searchable digital collection to see some of the artifacts catalogued. The grant also helped develop exhibition plans for the Pavilion and a special online exhibition on the museum’s co-founder Sarah Pell and her work with historic preservation and women’s rights in the early 20th century. Make sure you include Fort Ticonderoga and the restored and reinterpreted Pavilion in your post-COVID-19 travel plans!
Sarah Pell was an advocate for women’s rights who
co-founded the Fort Ticonderoga museum and was
an early curator of its artifacts and collections.
Source: Fort Ticonderoga
Women at the Helm
To honor the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment, Lake Champlain Maritime Museum completed a successful 2020 CVNHP Making of Nations grant that celebrates women leaders of the Champlain Valley from the 18th century to today. Women at the Helm is a digital “story map” that complements an interpretive exhibit on the woman ship captains of Lake Champlain, which will be featured during the 2021 season.
Photo: Lake Champlain Maritime Museum
Dr. Mary Watzin, the former Dean of UVM’s Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources and Director of Lake Champlain Sea Grant, was a long-time member of the Lake Champlain Basin Program’s Steering Committee as Chair of the LCBP Technical Advisory Committee. Photo: Rubenstein School of Environmental and Natural Resources, University of Vermont
Because of Women Like Her…
Photo: Vermont League of Women Voters
The Vermont League of Women Voters working with the Vermont Suffrage Centennial Alliance developed an outstanding series of mobile interpretive exhibits that will be displayed in Vermont schools this spring. The League also developed a series of lesson plans on the Suffrage Movement. Check it out online!
Women of Shelburne: Community Builders, Past to Present
The Shelburne Historical Society celebrated the centennial of the 19th Amendment by creating a museum exhibit and a companion guide for teachers. The products honor the contributions women made to build community in the Town of Shelburne, from the pre-European past to today. Local histories are often dominated by stories of the European settlers, and men who fought in the wars or served in the government. The historical society uncovered stories of the women who also served the community with courage, fortitude, and creativity. These stories of the unsung heroes of Shelburne offer a more expansive view of the town’s history. Swing by Shelburne’s Pierson Public Library this year to learn more.
Photo: Shelburne Historical Society
Louisine Havemeyer—master of publicity, noted art collector, socialite, and mother of the Shelburne Museum’s founder, Electra Webb—“passes the torch” in a 1915 ceremony. Photo: Denver Public Library
Stay tuned for more Suffrage Centennial projects sponsored by the CVNHP!
Champlain Valley National Heritage Partnership
54 West Shore Road
Grand Isle, VT 05458
www.champlainvalleynhp.org
