The election was one of historic proportions.
No, not this past Tuesday. Rather, 100 years ago, when roughly half of the population was finally afforded the right to vote. And more than 8 million women exercised that right, including more than 5,000 women in Johnson County.
“It’s crazy to think that, 100 years ago, women weren’t allowed to vote. No matter who you vote for, it’s important to learn about this and be grateful that we have the the right to do it,” said Emily Spuhler, curator for the Johnson County Museum of History.
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As people across the country took to the polls to cast their ballots this week, the Johnson County Museum of History celebrated this crucial voting milestone with a new exhibit. “Fighting to be Heard: The Women’s Suffrage Movement” looks at the centennial of the 19th Amendment through a local lens.
The exhibit delves deeper into the right to vote and how county leaders pushed to advance that right. Early leaders of the local suffrage movement, as well as those who first threw their hats into the political ring, are given a closer look.
“Any time there’s a big national event, we like to see it through the lens of Johnson County,” said David Pfeiffer, director of the museum. “This gave us an opportunity to see how our county was involved, which speakers came here, what was the newspaper coverage like back then.”
Stepping through the double doors of the Johnson County Museum of History’s special exhibits gallery, visitors are greeted head on with an old-fashioned voting booth. Inside the booth, after drawing the privacy curtain, people can pick up scanned copies of the actual 1920 ballot in Johnson County. They can scan through the different races, and choose their candidates from the four main parties at the time: Republican, Democratic, Socialist and Prohibition.
The display is a fitting introduction to the new exhibition, which features political memorabilia, the story of the fight for women’s suffrage and biographies of women who were champions and early political leaders in 1920s Johnson County.
See the dress that Frances Melton — the “Mother of the Modern Republican Party in Johnson County” — wore to Ronald Reagan’s second inaugural ball in 1985. Learn about Gertrude Miller, the first woman to run for office in the county, and see how she did in the 1920 race for treasurer.
Pore over cards, flyers, photographs and handouts encouraging people to vote over the years.
“This exhibit gives a lot of great information that you won’t find in the general history books. It’s a special exhibit,” Spuhler said.
The 19th Amendment was ratified by 36 states in 1919 and 1920 — with Tennessee’s passage on Aug. 18 serving as the decisive state. In the general election that year, more than 8 million women voted for the first time.
As institutions throughout the state organized special programs and events for the centennial of the 19th Amendment, the staff at the museum knew they wanted to put together something special.
The challenge for Pfeiffer and Spuhler was finding a way to examine the history of the amendment and how it impacted life in Johnson County.
“We focused a little bit on the national side of it, but a lot of that is what you learn in school,” Spuhler said. “A lot of people know the basics, but we definitely wanted to bring the suffrage movement to Johnson County and what was happening here.”
Starting with the monumental Seneca Falls Convention in 1848 and suffrage giants such as Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Lucretia Mott, the exhibit quickly narrows its focus to Johnson County. Displays tell the stories of Zelia Keay Webb, who took over the office of county recorder in 1920 after her husband became ill, and Miller, who lost by 593 votes in the treasurer’s race and was the first woman candidate to run locally.
Placards also highlight later women who shaped politics in Johnson County. Melton served eight years as county recorder and 16 as county clerk, winning as a Republican when the county was dominated by Democrats. Jeanette Surina became the first female mayor of Greenwood, holding the office from 1984 to 1991 and led such projects as renovating the Polk Community House and pushing to purchase what would become the Indy South Greenwood Airport.
The exhibit also makes it clear that just because the 19th Amendment passed, it was still difficult for some women to take to the polls. In particular, Black women were still struggling to get their rights, Spuhler said.
“Fighting to be Heard: The Women’s Suffrage Movement” will be on display through spring 2021. Admission to the museum is free.
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"Fighting to Be Heard: The Women’s Suffrage Movement"
What: An exhibit looking at the 19th Amendment and how it impacted Johnson County
Where: Johnson County Museum of History, 135 N. Main St., Franklin
When: Through spring 2021
Hours: 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Friday; 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday. Closed Sunday and Monday.
Information: johnsoncountymuseum.org
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