There are significant dates one learns during their time in American History class:

The Declaration of Independence was passed by Congress on July 4, 1776;
The United States Constitution was signed on Sept. 17, 1787;
The Abolition of the Slave Trade Act entered the statute books on March 25, 1807;
World War I ended on Nov. 11, 1918.

The dates reflect a moment in time when there was a change in the way things operated in the United States. But the story of the years before and the years after is one that is often untold.

The same holds true for Aug. 18, 1920. The 19th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States was ratified and women were granted the right to vote; a right their male counterparts had enjoyed for more than a century.

The century prior to 1920 and the century after 1920 are full of rich stories about how the Women’s Suffrage Movement came to be and how, in some ways, women continue to fight for their rights even today.

On March 7, 2020, the Champaign County Forest Preserve District’s Museum of the Grand Prairie will open its annual exhibit, “How Long Must Women Wait: Women’s Suffrage and Women’s Rights in Champaign County?” to tell the unknown stories of how advocates in Champaign County helped propel the national movement for equal rights and responsibilities as American citizens.

“It’s a national movement but it’s also a very local movement,” Museum and Education Department Director Barbara Oehlschlaeger-Garvey said.

The Museum’s exhibit follows stories of women who were working towards their right to own land and to vote, among other issues from 1850 to the current day.

“There were ladies that were forming women’s clubs in the late 19th century, names you know like Julia Burnham and Mary Busey, who were strong supporters of women’s suffrage. Those women also realized that they had an obligation to make positive social change.

“That’s why they were interested in creating the first hospital in the county and the first library; actually both Urbana and Champaign’s libraries were founded by ladies who were strong in the suffrage movement.”

Oehlschlaeger-Garvey’s team collected information from Champaign County’s Jane Patton’s estate to tell the story of a widowed woman becoming a property owner — something she could not do a decade prior to her husband’s passing.

“We don’t know whether she was involved in the (women’s suffrage) movement at all or not, but what we do know is that when she moved here in the 1850’s they built a log cabin, they lived at the edge of the prairie and they had 8 or 10 kids,” Oehlschlaeger-Garvey said.

“She worked really hard. When her husband died in 1880, he had a lot of debt. She paid off all the debt. And by the time she passed away, she acquired 2500 acres. She was an exceedingly successful lady.

“It is reported that she was present at 102 births. So she was also, you know, a community helper.

Oehlschlaeger-Garvey added that there are a lot of women’s stories like Patton’s that can be found, both at the Museum and in local papers and documents.

“We talked about her as the typical woman’s life; somebody who made a difference, but didn’t get noticed,” she said.

Talks of women’s voting rights made it to a conversation in 1870 when the Illinois constitution was up for amending. The measure failed.

Women were, though, granted the opportunity to run for any school office not created by the Illinois Constitution by 1873.

By 1891, women were given the right to vote for school officers. Women who voted were given a separate ballot and ballot box in which to vote.

While women are still fighting for their voice and rights, in some ways, Oehlschlaeger-Garvey said that many of the conversations that started on the national level could be heard in Champaign County, too.

“Susan B. Anthony, Sojourner Truth and Frederick Douglass all came to the area all speaking about the rights of women and minorities,” she said.

The conversation about women’s rights began to spark a small, but potent anti-suffragette movement in the early 1900’s.

“There were a lot of cartoons and things that mocked women for wanting to vote,” Oehlschlaeger-Garvey said. “Some people felt threatened.”

According to Oehlschlaeger-Garvey, that group was small, though.

“It’s actually kind of more hard to find people who are against (women’s rights),” she said.

Women took the first steps in using the American right to free speech by marching through Washington, D.C. in 1913 to “march in a spirit of protest against the present political organization of society, from which women are excluded,” the day before President Woodrow Wilson’s inauguration.

The Museum’s exhibit showcases Champaign’s Lillie Belle Sale, Eliza Vincent and Edith Dobbins, who attended the march.

The procession organized by the suffragists Alice Paul and Lucy Burns for the National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA), sought to create a visible display of support for women’s rights.

“They invited contingents from every state, and from all over the world to participate in this parade,” Oehlschlaeger-Garvey said. “And the estimates are wonky: some people say it was 5,000, some people say it was 10,000 people.

“It kind of took the power out of all the inauguration festivities.”

When Sale, Vincent and Dobbins returned home, they helped form the Twin City Equal Suffrage League, which eventually became the League of Women Voters.

Oehlschlaeger-Garvey said some of the long call for change echos what some continue to fight for today.

“People were involved and it mattered to them,” she said. “Now, it’s just that we’re in the middle of it, so we don’t see it.”

By June 26, 1913, Gov. Edward Dunne signed the suffrage bill into law, giving Illinois women the right to vote for President.

While states west of the Mississippi River had granted women the right to vote prior, Illinois became the first state east of the Mississippi to allow women (1,600,000) to vote, doubling the number of voters in the United States, according to Oehlschlaeger-Garvey.

“So by allowing Illinois women to vote, he doubled the electorate,” she said.

While women in Illinois could vote for presidential electors, mayor, aldermen and most other local offices, they could not vote for governor, state representatives or members of Congress because that would have meant that the state had to ratify their constitution.

Many women, for the first time since getting married, were required to use their “Christian name.

“Women didn’t really have personalities, outside of their husbands until this point, but then they needed to know what their actual name was to identify them as people,”  Oehlschlaeger-Garvey said.

Women still had to vote at a separate ballot box, though.

Oehlschlaeger-Garvey said women became increasingly disheartened that they were playing vital roles in ensuring the country continued to thrive even when their husbands and sons were fighting in WWI, but were not able to vote.

“They were not able to vote about things that are concerning people who are making decisions about the war,” she said. “So that was one big push that probably helped suffrage.”

Frustrated with the slow-moving process at the National level, the National Woman’s Party’s (NWP) Alice Paul organized a group to protest at the gates of the President’s house on Jan. 30, 1917.

The group became known as the “Silent Sentinels,” as they stood at their posts for almost three years.

The group sought to influence Wilson’s opinion, seeking his endorsement to sway members of Congress from the Democratic Party to vote for the amendment’s passage.

Instead, the group became a nuisance to Wilson, and were later arrested on charges of obstructing traffic.

The women continued to take their stand at the White House gates and later in Lafayette Square until June 4, 1919 when the 19th Amendment to the United States Constitution was passed, both by the House of Representatives and the Senate.

The Museum of the Grand Prairie’s exhibit also tells the story of prohibition, which many suffragette supporters were in favor of. Prohibition actually went into effect before Women’s Suffrage on Jan. 17, 1920.

“It’s because all that movement was going in the same direction,” Oehlschlaeger-Garvey said. “There were women that were pushing toward the same thing.”

The Museum staff knows that that movement did not stop with the passing of equal rights and responsibilities in the 1920’s. The exhibit also showcases the women’s liberation movement of the 1970’s, the continued fight for equal pay and the Women’s March on Washington D.C.

The Museum’s March 7 opening will begin with a short welcoming reception and exhibit preview from museum staff at 1:30 p.m.

Beginning at 2 p.m., students from Eastern Illinois University’s Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies program will provide short first-person interpretations of a 19th century suffrage supporter, a female Irish pirate and the first woman who ran for Congress.

The Champaign County Forest Preserve will continue to celebrate women throughout 2020 with their Speakers Series and their Summer Concert Series, which will feature only female artists.

Oehlschlaeger-Garvey said that like the book “The Heartland: An American History” by Kristin L. Hoganson suggests, “there’s this perception that the Midwest have always been like nowheresville, but really it’s always been like that part of the whole big national engine.”

Wednesday, April 29
HISTORY ON TAP: WOMEN, ALCOHOL, AND THE VOTE
25 O’Clock Brewing Company, 208 W Griggs St, Urbana, IL, 7 p.m.
Lecture presented by Barb Oehlschlaeger-Garvey, Director of the Museum and Education Department
at the Champaign County Forest Preserve District
Did you know that Prohibition was instituted by the 18th amendment and women were allowed to vote by the
19th amendment? Prohibition was ratified in January 1919, Woman Suffrage in August 1920. Some suffragists
promoted Prohibition and that may have pushed forward their voting rights. Ironically, we can now toast
women’s right to vote at this “History on Tap.” It will include a short talk, slide show and discussion about the
national movement and local players. “History on Tap” is a new series that travels the county to some of the
area’s finest establishments for learning and libatious liquids.

Saturday, May 30
CASTING A HISTORIC VOTE: SUFFRAGE IN ILLINOIS
Museum of the Grand Prairie, Lake of the Woods Forest Preserve, 2 p.m.
Lecture presented by Jeanne Schultz-Angel, historian and Director of Learning Experiences at Naper
Settlement in Naperville, Illinois
Prior to 1920, women were denied the vote in the majority of elections in the United States. The struggle for
enfranchisement began with the birth of our nation and was strategized differently in our local, state, and federal
elections. Despite what people today believe to be a straightforward goal, the path to women’s suffrage was
infused with sexism and racism and triggered a fear of feminism whose roots are still seen today.

Sunday, June 7
HISTORY BROUGHT TO LIFE: ELIZABETH CADY STANTON
Museum of the Grand Prairie, Lake of the Woods Forest Preserve, 2 p.m.
First-person Interpretation presented by Laura Keyes, historian, author, and professional actor, will
portray Elizabeth Cady Stanton
Elizabeth Cady Stanton fought for equal rights for women for over fifty years, and upon her death in 1902 she
left behind a legacy of her crusade for female equality and myriad writings that would inspire feminists for over
a century to come. Hear from Mrs. Stanton in 1866, when the Civil War was over, but the battle for Women’s
Suffrage was just beginning. Join us for this engaging first

Sunday, July 19
SONGS AND STORIES FROM THE WOMEN’S MOVEMENT IN CHAMPAIGN-URBANA, 1973-
1983
Museum of the Grand Prairie, Lake of the Woods Forest Preserve, 2 p.m.
Musical presentation provided by Kristin Lems, singer-songwriter and founder of the National Women’s
Music Festival
Champaign-Urbana was the home of great activism and activity on behalf of women’s rights in the decade
between 1973-1983. There were ERA rallies, a rape crisis center, a women’s escort service to take women home
safely after parties and events, and groups from the Abortion Rights Coalition to Gay Illini to Housewives for
ERA. Kristin Lems will share songs and stories from those days along with precious (to her!) artifacts including
t-shirts, posters, and buttons.

Sunday, August 16
AN AFTERNOON WITH SUFFRAGISTS
Museum of the Grand Prairie, Lake of the Woods Forest Preserve, 2 p.m.
First-person Interpretation presented by Volunteer docents from the Champaign-Urbana Alliance
Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution
Did you know that on August 18, 1920, the 19th amendment was officially ratified allowing women the basic
human right to vote? Join us and help celebrate this month’s historic 100-year anniversary! History will come to
life during this one-act reading play portraying the famous suffragists Susan B. Anthony, Alice Paul, and Inez
Mulholland.

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While many libraries and museums throughout the state are also closed, those in East Central Illinois that do stay open oftentimes have programming for families to learn more about King.

Festivities kick-off on Feb. 17 from 3 to 5 p.m. at the Vineyard Church Urbana Campus, located at 1500 N. Lincoln Ave. in Urbana.

The Countywide Celebration, hosted by the cities of Champaign and Urbana, alongside Champaign County, the Village of Rantoul, Parkland College and the University of Illinois, will include Keynote Speaker Dr. Sampson Davis, who grew up in Newark, NJ and founded The Three Doctors Foundation. Davis is also the youngest African American to receive The Scroll of Merit, the National Medical Associations highest honor.

The Nfinite Soul Band will also provide entertainment.

The Krannert Center for Performing Arts will hold its 35th Annual Dr. MLK, Jr. Service of Celebration on Jan. 19 from 5 to 7 p.m. at Foellinger Great Hall.

Since 1988, the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Advocacy for Justice Committee has awarded more than 200 scholarships to local students attending colleges such as Parkland College, University of Illinois, and historically Black colleges and universities.

This year, they honor the memory of Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. with a keynote address and music from the community choir.

The Vineyard Church, Mahomet Hub will celebrate King’s birthday with the 35th Annual Unity Breakfast at the Urbana Campus from 8:30 to noon on Jan. 20.

From 1 to 3 p.m. on Jan. 20, the Champaign County Forest Preserve will host School’s Out: Martin Luther King Celebration at the Museum of the Grand Prairie.

Guests will have opportunities to explore the rich cultural heritage of the African American community in Champaign County. Activities, that include crafts, songs and videos, will help guests learn more about the  life of Dr. King, celebrate his legacy and how everyone can keep that mission alive in the present time.

The Danville Public Library will provide crafts and a documentary, “10 Things You May Not Know About Martin Luther King, Jr.” for children ages 5-12 on Jan. 20 from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Danville will kick-off MLK Day at 10:30 a.m. with a parade that will begin at the corner of Main St. and Logan Ave. and end with a ceremony at St. James United Methodist Church where Reverend Daniel J. Garrett, pastor of Spirit Redeemed Missionary Baptist Church in Chicago will speak.

St. James United Methodist Church will also host “Pursuing Peace Together” on Jan. 19 at 4 p.m. at the Days Hotel at 77 N. Gilbert St., Danville.

When Shepards Worship (WSW), a gospel group from Chicago, Illinois will perform.

The fun doesn’t have to stop there, though. Other organizations provide other activities during the late afternoon and evening hours.

The Middle Fork River Preserve will host School’s Out: Owl Prowl from 3 to 4:30 p.m. on Jan. 20.

The great horned howls begin nesting in January, providing owl-watchers will a great change to see or hear a live owl during the month of January. The CCFPD staff will begin with a presentation about native Illinois owls and dissecting owl pellets indoors. The group will then head outside to look for owls before the sun sets. Space is limited and there is a $5 per person fee.

Those looking for an adventure can grab an Illinois Heartland Library System Library Crawl card from their home library, then venture out to meet new people and discover new libraries during their time off school or work.

The St. Joseph Township- Swearingen Memorial Library, which is participating in the Library Crawl, is hosting their Winter Book Sale until Jan. 30. Books and other library material is available with a donation.

From 6:30 to 7 p.m. the St. Joseph library will also be telling stories to children during their regularly scheduled storytime.

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The stories told and those that will be created at the Museum of the Grand Prairie’s upcoming exhibit: “Frieda Mumm’s Discovering Home” are no different.

It’s not something museum curators will be there to talk about, though. 
After years of creating the interactive experience, the Museum of the Grand Prairie will gladly allow the visitors’ imagination to take over while they experience what it’s like to be home, travel home and correspond with home during another time.

Every detail of the exhibit has a story of its own; it’s something that was intentional as museum curators set out to renovate the popular lower level.

Adults who once visited the area formerly known as the Children’s Discovery Area, may remember a time when they dressed up, pretending they were a settler on the prairie as their children created their own stories by climbing into a thatched wigwam, imagining what it would be like to stay warm during the harsh winters.

“This space had been around for a long time,” Museum Curator Mark Hanson said.

“We recycled a lot of the basic concepts that were down here before. When (people) come back, it will be new and fresh for the kids, but there will still be those touchstones.”

The renovated space, based on the concept of settler and Native American homes, will help children imagine and re-imagine home, both then and now.

“Kids are dealing with a lot of things, and I think home is an important thing to think about: what it used to be, how home has always been the same,” Hanson said.

Champaign County Forest Preserve Public Program and Visitor Services Coordinator Pat Cain said, “there are differences across history, but there are a lot of fundamental similarities with the homes that we see in this space as well as the homes that we have.

“We all have the same basic needs still that we’ve had since the dawn of human history: water, shelter, fire. The more things change, the more things stay the same.”

“I think it’s a timely and important topic to be thinking about, but I also think it’s a topic that I think kids can get their head wrapped around,” Hanson said. “It’s not something that’s overly complicated or academic; it’s something that everybody experiences in different ways and it impacts their lives.”

A table will be set near the hearth so that families can play games or talk or children can go pick “corn” from the stalks located in the corner of each area.

The exhibit also includes information about how people traveled home or corresponded with home.

A staple in the lower level of the museum was a horse made of barrels. The horse is still there, just in a different form, standing near a dugout canoe that children can sit in as they pretend to voyage down the Sangamon River.

Children can also pretend to call home on a rotary phone or sort postcards in the mail sorting area.

This is where the intricate details of an interactive exhibit really come to life.

Each postcard is durable enough to last for years even as children place them in boxes or read a message from Abraham Lincoln. The names, addresses and messages will transport children back to some important historical figures while even the youngest children can participate by just sorting mail by colors. 
These are the stories guests to museums never think about; but these are the details that museum curators spend hours visualizing so that their guests can take part in stories that live on for generations.

One of the names on the postcards is the exhibit’s namesake, Frieda Mumm: a woman who spent years volunteering within the museum’s walls just so guests could take away a seed of knowledge: connecting them to the world around them, the world before them and the possibilities of a world that could be.

When Mumm passed away in 2014 at the age of 104, she left a $130,000 gift to the Museum of the Grand Prairie from her estate.

Mumm spent much of her time at the museum participating in the Prairie Beaker program, which allowed visitors to immerse themselves in the day-to-day life of early central Illinois settlers. She demonstrated how to churn butter and make lye soap and candles, and served as one of the program’s first schoolmarms.

Hanson said “Discovering Home” is a great way to carry on Mumm’s work.

“It’s about kids, education, those things that she really felt passionate about; this was a perfect fit to honor her legacy here and continue those things that she felt were important,” he said.

The Champaign County Forest Preserve invites community members to celebrate the opening of the new exhibit on Saturday, May 18 from 1 to 4 p.m.

Alongside the open exhibit, children can partake in household activities with a historical twist, listen to tales of home from a professional storyteller, see and touch a real live horse and buggy from Merrybeth Farm Carriage Service or learn how to write their name in Morse Code.

This event is free and open to the public.

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“Dr. King was about civil right for his people. He gave a message of hope. It’s important to pause and remember who he was as a person and activist, and not just an icon,” Museum of the Grand Prairie’s Education Programs Specialist Katie Snyder said.

The Museum’s “School’s Out: Martin Luther King Day Celebration” will be held from 1 to 3 p.m. on January 21. The staff has crafts, a scavenger hunt, books and videos available for visitors.

Children will have an opportunity to hear Martin Luther King Jr.’s words through a craft that showcases his quotes.

In the spirit of King’s empowerment, the Champaign County Forest Preserve has teamed up with the Champaign County Coalition for Trauma and Resilience to provide rocks for children to paint, then to spread throughout the community.

Snyder said the rocks will have the Coalition’s information on the back so that if someone finds the rock and needs help, they will be able to connect.

“We always try to do something that furthers the work of Dr. King,” Snyder said.

Snyder also hopes that students will learn about Champaign County’s history and leaders during the Civil Rights movement through the scavenger hunt.

By getting to know some of the civil rights less-known leaders here locally, Snyder said that “(students) can understand that they too can become that person.”

The scavenger hunt, which has become a staple for events at the Museum of the Grand Prairie, also encourages visitors to become comfortable with exploring the museum and its exhibits.

Snyder said the taxpayers provide the funding for the museum, and it “belongs to the people.”

In the past, parents and children have enjoyed spending time together while reading a book about King or watching a video.

Registration is not necessary for the Martin Luther King Day Celebration, but Snyder said parents are required to stay with children during the event.

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