To celebrate the centennial of the passing of the 19th Amendment, the National Collaborative for Women’s History Sites (NCWHS) and the University of West Florida Historic Trust will be unveiling the first historic marker in Pensacola on the National Votes for Women Trail.
The marker will be dedicated on November 14 at 11 a.m. at the Pensacola Museum of History located at 330 South Jefferson Street. The building formerly served as Pensacola City Hall and was a meeting place for the Pensacola Equal Suffrage League (ESL) in the early 1900s.
“The Pensacola ESL was established on March 23, 1914 and hosted their regular bi-monthly meetings at City Hall until 1919,” says Rob Overton, Executive Director of the UWF Historic Trust. “The ESL was active in creating and expanding interest in the woman suffrage movement. They worked to make Pensacola the most favorable city to host the first convention of the Florida Equal Suffrage Association (FESA), winning the honor to entertain the first state-wide suffrage conference in December 1914.”
The National Votes for Women Trail seeks to recognize and celebrate the enormous diversity of people and groups active in the struggle for women’s suffrage. Historic markers awarded through a grant program are highlighting sites on the National Votes for Women Trail.
Sponsored by the National Collaborative for Women’s History Sites, the trail consists of a database with digital map and a program of historic markers for 250 women’s suffrage sites across the country, funded by the Pomeroy Foundation and the federal Women’s Suffrage Centennial Commission.
