Two recent online projects share some fascinating Evanston women’s history. We share them with you. Enjoy! The Women’s Suffrage Movement in Illinois and Evanston Her March to Democracy: Stories Along the National Votes for Women Trail is a new podcast that includes an episode focusing on Illinois and the women’s suffrage movement. Evanston Women’s History […]
Recent Projects in Evanston Women’s History Read More »
By Janet Olson, The Center for Women’s History and Leadership Speaking at a Woman’s Christian Temperance Union (WCTU) meeting in Evanston in 1883, Mrs. Jennette Hauser posed the title question. It was a logical question—after all, Evanston had been dry since 1855, thanks to Northwestern University’s charter, which stated that no alcohol could be sold
By Janet Olson, Archivist at WCTU Archives 150 years ago this June Frances Willard became the first Dean of Women at Northwestern University. The story of her taking on this position is interesting and illuminates the broader story of women’s education in Evanston and the U.S. in this time period. Our Educated Women series is
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The EWHP is excited to announce three great programs with a women’s history angle at the Evanston History Center. Pre-Civil War Quilts: Secret Codes to Freedom on the Underground Railroad™ Thursday, February 2, 2023, at 7 pmIn-person event at the Evanston History Center, 225 Greenwood St, Evanston, ILSeating is limited. Registration Required. Click here for
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By Lori Osborne, Evanston Women’s History Project Director See Part 1 here for the beginning of the story. North Western Female College thrived in its early years, despite the setbacks of losing its first building to a fire and the multi-year absence of founder William Jones for health issues. It established Evanston as a place
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By Lori Osborne, Evanston Women’s History Project Director 150 years ago, Evanston was at the center of an experiment in education that would define it for generations. Though Northwestern University is the best known today, it was two small women’s colleges that established Evanston as “a paradise for women.”1 As we start the school year
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Even the 4th of July has a women’s history connection in Evanston. Visit the Frances Willard House and Northwestern University Library websites for more of this important story! https://www.northwestern.edu/150-years-of-women/learn/library-exhibit/fireworks-and-fire.html Happy 4th!
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Shorefront Legacy Center unveiled its new historic marker program to honor historic and contemporary sites in Evanston important to the African American community in May of 2022. Sites chosen are nominated and guided by the local community under Shorefront’s leadership, and new sites will be added annually. The African American Heritage Sites program was passed
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The Women’s L Project is the brain child of Janet Volk, a Chicago woman fascinated by local history, and Jessika Savage, a local graphic designer. To discover the Evanston women included on the Purple Line stops that run through town – visit this page – https://www.womenslproject.com/pages/purple-line From the project’s website: The Women’s L Project honors
This virtual presentation by Scott Mehaffey, Executive Director at Edith Farnsworth House National Historic Site in Plano, Illinois, took place on April 5, 2022. Mehaffey discussed the history and current status of the renowned International Style house. The historical house was commissioned by Dr. Edith Farnsworth, a prominent Chicago medical doctor, musician, and poet. The house, a one-room weekend
