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 …
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 …
By Sophia Weglarz, EWHP 2021 Summer Intern In my previous blog post, I discussed the 1932 alliance between Evanston’s first Black alderman, Edwin Jourdain, and the first female alderwoman, Daisy Sandidge, when Sandidge ran for Jourdain’s unexpired term at his behest after he was removed for supposed election fraud. Earlier this summer, I wrote about …
Piecing History Together: the story of the Mathilda Dunbar Club Read More »
Here are some highlights from the EWHP in 2016. We are looking forward to a busy 2017! in 2016, the Joan Barr Smith Endowment for Women’s History moved to the Evanston Community Foundation (ECF). Barr Smith was Evanston’s first female mayor and this move honors Joan’s long commitment to both women’s history and Evanston, and …
2016 Review – More Work To Do for Women’s History Read More »
Evanston Women and the 19th is a web resource that was introduced by the Evanston Women’s History Project last fall. The information on the collections is valuable, and recent updates make the materials more interactive and engaging for visitors. These updates include: a new contextual timeline that opens the exhibit, offering visitors a view of …
The Evanston Women’s History Project is excited to unveil a new web resource that will highlight the contributions Evanston women and organizations made to making the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, removing gender restrictions on voting, possible. People today associate this accomplishment with well-known figures like Susan B. Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton, but there …
Evanston Women and the 19th – A New Web Resource Read More »
We are excited to announce a new event celebrating women and girls here in Evanston and around the globe: International Women’s Day Evanston 2012. The YWCA Evanston/North Shore, Northwestern University Women’s Center and the Woman’s Club of Evanston are hosting a breakfast in celebration Thursday, March 8 from 7:45 a.m. – 9:30 a.m. at the John Evans Alumni Center, Northwestern …
This year marks the 100th Anniversary of International Women’s Day and this moment has a surprising Evanston connection in May Wood Simons. Simons and her husband, Algie, were Evanston residents for many years and were active in the early years of the Socialist Party in America. Simons wrote for and edited several socialist publications, including …
Attorney Mayme Finley Spencer was Evanston’s first African-American female alderman. She came to Evanston in 1957 with her husband Warren, a doctor at the Community Hospital. Spencer was elected alderman in 1963 and served two terms. A graduate of Kent College of Law, Spencer practiced law for many years at a Chicago law firm while …
Visit the Evanston History Center research room to see a new small exhibit that tells the story of Evanston women who served in WWI and WWII. The exhibit was curated by our Fall intern, Hannah Van Loon. It covers several stories of Evanston women in the wars. Here is just a highlight… Mary Glenn (1892-1972) …
