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Virginia Women's Monument

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The Virginia Women's Monument is a state memorial in Richmond, Virginia commemorating the contributions of Virginia women to the history of the Commonwealth of Virginia and the United States of America.[1] Located on the grounds of the Virginia State Capitol, the monument is officially titled Voices from the Garden: The Virginia Women's Monument and features life-sized bronze statues of eleven Virginia women placed in a small granite plaza.[2]

Virginia Women's Monument
Map
37°32′22″N 77°26′4″W / 37.53944°N 77.43444°W / 37.53944; -77.43444
Location1000 Bank St, Richmond, VA 23219
MaterialGranite, bronze, glass
Opening dateOctober 14, 2019
Dedicated toContributions of women throughout Virginia history
Official website

The monument was first proposed in 2009[3] and established by joint resolution of the Virginia General Assembly in 2010.[1] An 18-member commission, along with input from the Library of Virginia and professors of women's history, selected the women to be honored with statues sculpted by StudioEIS in Brooklyn, New York. The granite plaza and Wall of Honor were opened in October 2018 and the monument was officially unveiled with the first seven completed statues on October 14, 2019.[4]

The seven women were Cockacoeske, chieftain of the Pamunkey tribe; Anne Burras Laydon, Jamestown colonist; Mary Draper Ingles, frontierswoman and American pioneer; Elizabeth Keckley, seamstress and confidant of Mary Todd Lincoln; Laura Copenhaver, entrepreneur; Virginia Randolph, prominent educator; Adele Goodman Clark, suffragist and activist.[4]

In May 2022 additional statues of Sarah Garland Boyd Jones, physician; Maggie L. Walker, businesswoman and teacher; Clementina Rind, the first female newspaper printer and publisher in Virginia; and Martha Washington, inaugural first lady of the United States, were installed.[5][6]

History

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Proposal

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The idea for the monument came in 2009 from Richmond native Em Bowles Locker Alsop — a writer and former actress who had been considered for the role of Scarlett O'Hara in the 1939 film Gone with the Wind.[3][7] Alsop lobbied her state senator, Walter Stosch, who subsequently introduced Senate Joint Resolution No. 11 in the 2010 session of the Virginia General Assembly.[8] The joint resolution, which created the Virginia Women's Monument Commission, was passed unanimously in both the Virginia House of Delegates and Senate of Virginia.[9] In 2015, Alsop died at the age of 98, three years before the monument was first opened to the public.[7]

From the text of Senate Joint Resolution No. 11:

WHEREAS, throughout the ages women have been central to the perpetuation of society, and women of every nationality and race have left an indelible mark through their countless contributions, achievements, and accomplishments that have benefitted mankind; and

WHEREAS, from the founding of the Commonwealth, the genius and creativity of women and their presence and contributions have been evident in every aspect of Virginia history and the life of the people of the Commonwealth; however, they have received little appreciation, recognition, or official acknowledgement...

RESOLVED by the Senate, the House of Delegates concurring, That a commemorative commission to honor the contributions of the women of Virginia with a monument on the grounds of Capitol Square be established.[1]

The joint resolution established that the Virginia Women's Monument Commission would be composed of 19 members—the Governor, the Chair of the Senate Committee on Rules, the Speaker of the House of Delegates, representatives from the Senate and House, the Clerk of the House, and eight members of the general public. The resolution also established that the monument would be built with private funds.[9]

Design

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The monument was planned to have a total of 12 statues, chosen from every region of the state and representing the diverse achievements of women throughout the first 400 years of Virginia's history. Standing in the center of the plaza is a granite pedestal topped by a bronze sundial engraved with the names of several Virginia localities.[2] Two benches line the sides of the oval plaza, along with a series of tempered glass panels, called the Wall of Honor, inscribed with the names of more than 200 additional important women of Virginia history.[10]

By the time the statues of Sarah Garland Boyd Jones and Maggie L. Walker were installed in 2022, the press referred to a total of 11 figures. Included in the original plan but missing from the final design was Sally Louisa Tompkins a Richmond hospital administrator and a captain in the Confederate army.[11][5]

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    Early plan for the Virginia Women's Monument.
  •  
    Model for completed monument
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    Model for completed monument

Statues

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Current monument

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Honoree Picture Lived Region Description
Anne Burras Laydon   before c. 1594 – after 1625 Jamestown Colonist
Cockacoeske   fl. 1656–1686 Middle Peninsula Pamunkey chief
Mary Draper Ingles   1732–1815 New River Valley Frontierswoman
Martha Washington   1731—1802 Chestnut Grove inaugural first lady of the United States
Clementina Rind   1740–1774 Williamsburg newspaper printer and publisher
Elizabeth Keckley   1818–1907 Dinwiddie County Seamstress and author
Maggie L. Walker   1864–1934 Richmond businesswoman and teacher
Sarah Garland Boyd Jones   1866–1905 Richmond physician
Laura E. Copenhaver   1868–1940 Smyth County Entrepreneur and Lutheran lay leader
Virginia E. Randolph   1870–1958 Henrico County Educator
Adèle Clark   1882–1983 Richmond Suffragist and artist

Wall of Honor

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A further 230 women are listed on the Wall of Honor of the Monument; further nominations are currently being solicited.[12]

List of honorees

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References

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  1. ^ a b c "Senate Joint Resolution No. 11". Virginia's Legislative Information System. Virginia Division of Legislative Automated Systems. Retrieved February 15, 2020.
  2. ^ a b "About Us: Voices from the Garden". Virginia Women's Monument Commission. Retrieved February 15, 2020.
  3. ^ a b Curran, Colleen (October 14, 2019). "'A monumental day': Seven statues unveiled at Virginia Women's Monument on Capitol Square". Richmond Times-Dispatch. Retrieved February 15, 2020.
  4. ^ a b "Voices from the Garden: The Virginia Women's Monument is Nation's First Monument Honoring Full Scope of Women's Achievements" (PDF). Virginia Women's Monument Commission. October 1, 2019.
  5. ^ a b "Final two statues installed at Virginia Women's Monument". WRIC ABC 8News. May 29, 2022. Retrieved June 24, 2022.
  6. ^ "'Open to all parties but influenced by none:' The Virginia Gazette's first female printer, editor memorialized at state Capitol". Daily Press. January 25, 2022. Retrieved June 24, 2022.
  7. ^ a b Robertson, Ellen (March 8, 2015). "Em Bowles Locker Alsop, one of 20 screen-tested to be Scarlett O'Hara in GWTW, dies at 98". Richmond Times-Dispatch. Retrieved May 16, 2020.
  8. ^ "Obituary for Em Bowles Locker Alsop at Central Chapel". www.bennettfuneralhomes.com. Retrieved February 23, 2020.
  9. ^ a b "LIS > Bill Tracking > SJ11 > 2010 session". lis.virginia.gov. Retrieved February 23, 2020.
  10. ^ "Wall of Honor". Virginia Women's Monument Commission. Retrieved February 15, 2020.
  11. ^ "Meet the Women". Virginia Women's Monument Commission. Retrieved August 27, 2022.
  12. ^ "Virginia Womens Monument Commission". womensmonumentcom.virginia.gov.
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