Orlando recently installed two historical markers that celebrate the contributions of Rev. Mary Safford in the women's suffrage movement in the city and the country.
According to WFTV9, the markers are installed at the First Unitarian Church of Orlando and the Historic Angebilt Hotel.
'Road to 19th Amendment'
A report by WFTV 9 noted the critical role that Reverend Safford played in the widespread movement that eventually paved the way for the 19th Amendment, which garnet women in the U.S. the right to vote.
The report noted that Safford led the Florida Equal Suffrage Association, which became a critical part of the nationwide women's suffrage cause. Officials revealed that Florida's women successfully gained the right to vote at least one year prior to the 1920 ratification of the 19th Amendment.
Orlando mayor Buddy Dryer tweeted on March 8, saying, "Learning about Orlando's past can play a key role in allowing us to build a stronger community for all today. That's why I was excited to help unveil a historical marker on Orange Avenue that showcases the role that Orlando residents played in the women's suffrage movement."
The report said the marker at the Historic Angebilt Hotel was unveiled on Tuesday.
According to the National Archives website, the 19th Amendment was ratified in 1920, which granted American women the right to vote.
"Achieving this milestone required a lengthy and difficult struggle—victory took decades of agitation and protest. Beginning in the mid-19th century, several generations of woman suffrage supporters lectured, wrote, marched, lobbied, and practiced civil disobedience to achieve what many Americans considered a radical change of the Constitution. Few early supporters lived to see final victory in 1920," the website said.
National Votes for Women Trail
WFTV 9 added that the two Orlando markers are part of the 250-marker National Votes for Women Trail (NVWT). According to the National Collaborative for Women's History Sites (NCWHS) website, the NVWT project aims to "tell the untold story of suffrage for all women, of all ethnicities, that extends well past the passage of the 19th amendment."
The website said NCWHS already has more than 2,000 relevant sites on its database. They also have 44 State Coordinators who help them document and map all possible sites with a link to the women's suffrage movement across the U.S.
NCWHS said they partnered with The William G. Pomeroy Foundation to make the project possible. The organization said their partner foundation 'complements their efforts' through its 250 donated roadside markers, which they install in various places across the country.
About Rev. Mary Safford
According to Uudb.org, Rev. Mary Safford was born in 1851 on a farm by the banks of the Mississippi River. Safford was a Unitarian minister who organized and served the First Unitarian Church in Orlando from 1910 to 1927.
She would become the face and voice of the Florida Equal Suffrage Association as its president. The association was instrumental in championing the women's suffrage cause in the state, eventually leading to its success in 1919.
A year later, women across the country were granted the same constitutional right through the ratification of the 19th Amendment.
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