In Illinois, we have mapped and marked sites that tell the Illinois suffrage story, in partnership with the National Collaborative for Women’s History Sites (NCWHS) and their initiative to create the National Votes for Women Trail. This trail “seeks to recognize and celebrate the enormous diversity of people and groups active in the struggle for women’s suffrage.”
From the NCWHS Website:
The Trail consists of two parts: 1) a database with a digital map and 2) a program of historical 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. Through crowd-sourcing, the digital map collects sites from all over our country to tell the story of suffrage for all women, of all ethnicities, classes, and geographic areas, from the colonial period to the present. In partnership with The William G. Pomeroy Foundation and the federal Women’s Suffrage Centennial Commission, the National Votes for Women Trail also promotes a program of historical markers to commemorate the people, places, and events important to passage of the Nineteenth amendment in 1920.
In Illinois, we have added more than forty eight sites to the National Votes for Women Trail. We have also proposed five sites for Pomeroy Markers in the state and are working on adding more as time and resources allow. The five we have proposed are:
Evanston – Catharine Waugh McCulloch – accepted and installed on October 30, 2021 – more here – www.evanstonwomen.org
Chicago – Alpha Suffrage Club – the suffrage club formed by Ida B. Wells in 1913 – accepted and installed October 1, 2021.
Oak Park – Grace Wilbur Trout – accepted and installed August 26, 2021 – more here – https://www.oakpark.com/News/Articles/8-18-2020/Oak-Park-suffragist-honored-by-Pomeroy-Foundation–/?utm_campaign=WJ-News&utm_medium=Outbound-Email&utm_source=WJ-News-8-18-2020
Lombard – Ellen Martin – accepted and installed August 18, 2020 – more here – https://lwvnaperville.org/ellen-martin-honored-by-national-votes-for-women-trail/
Chicago – Michigan Avenue – the site of numerous suffrage parades; the headquarters of the Illinois Equal Suffrage Association and the Chicago Political Equality League; and the founding of the National Woman’s Party and the League of Women Voters U.S. – location and approval pending
For more information on suffrage sites in Illinois, email ewhp@evanstonhistorycenter.org.
Suffrage 2020 Illinois 