The 100th anniversary of the ratification of the 19th Amendment is coming up—you know, the addition to the U.S. Constitution that let some women vote. (If you still can’t remember it, let Dolly Parton fill in your blanks.)
To mark the occasion, American Express is working with the National Trust for Historic Preservation to shine a light on historic buildings and sites where women helped make history, even if it was unsung at the time. Places like the home of Colorado’s first female African American doctor; To Kill a Mockingbird author Harper Lee’s hometown courthouse in Monroeville, Alabama; the old Odd Fellows hall in Astoria, Oregon, where the community has gathered for over a century; or a theater in Wyoming, the first state to grant women the right to vote.
All 20 sites are places where women struggled and triumphed and made their marks on the world.
Because this is a democracy, the public gets to vote for their favorite site to win a share in the $2 million grant money. Head to VoteYourMainStreet.Org to help decide which piece of women’s history should be preserved. (The correct answer is all places, which is why each local partner is receiving an initial grant of $10,000 to increase public awareness of the importance of these historic places and build grassroots support for their Main Street district.)
The voting platform is hosted by media partner National Geographic, and Delta Air Lines signed up as a campaign sponsor for the third year in a row. Unlike a presidential election, people can cast up to five votes each day of the campaign.
- Astoria, OR – Odd Fellows Building
- Austin, TX – Elisabet Ney Museum
- Denver, CO – Dr. Justina Ford Home
- Franklin, TN – Franklin Grove Estate and Gardens
- Holly, MI – Holly Union Depot
- Janesville, WI – Janesville Woman’s Club
- Kansas City, MO – EGG (Economic Growth Gallery) Building
- Los Angeles, CA – Downtown Women’s Center
- Macon, GA – Ruth Hartley Mosley Memorial Women’s Center
- Minneapolis, MN – The Women’s Club of Minneapolis
- Monroeville, AL – Monroe County Courthouse
- Mount Pleasant, IA – Union Block
- Painesville, OH – College Hall (Lake Erie College)
- Rawlins, WY – Strand Theatre
- Salt Lake City, UT – Ladies’ Literary Clubhouse
- Savannah, GA – Juliette Gordon Low Birthplace
- Seattle, WA – YWCA Seneca Headquarters
- Staten Island, NY –The Roebling-Stirn Mansion
- West Chester, PA – Chester County Historical Society
- West Palm Beach, FL – Ann Norton Sculpture Gardens
Get your votes in now or take your time, research the sites, and learn more about women’s history. Just be sure to get your vote in by the October 29 deadline.