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Women's Suffrage History Trail
Item 25 of 25

The Minnesota Woman Suffrage Memorial was erected by the Nineteenth Amendment Celebration Committee of the League of Women Voters of Minnesota. Planning began in 1994 and the memorial was dedication on August 26, 2000. The memorial consists of a garden planted in the suffragist colors and a 90-foot trellis honoring 25 leaders of the suffrage movement in Minnesota. 


Minnesota Woman Suffrage Memorial

Sky, Cloud, Plant, Road surface

Minnesota Woman Suffrage Memorial

Font, Commemorative plaque, Metal, Typesetting

The design of the memorial garden is meant to represent the landscape of Minnesota created by the last glacial age

Land lot, Urban design, Grass, Biome

Minnesota Woman Suffrage Memorial

Plant, Sky, Building, Tree

Minnesota Woman Suffrage Memorial

Plant, Sky, Cloud, Tree

Minnesota Woman Suffrage Memorial

Cloud, Sky, Plant, Tree

Minnesota Woman Suffrage Memorial

Plant, Sky, Wood, Shade

Harriet Bishop (engraving by J.C. Buttre, c. 1860)

Forehead, Face, Hair, Eyebrow

Jane Grey Swisshelm, c. 1860

Photograph, Sleeve, Art, Vintage clothing

Sarah Burger Stearns, 1880

Chin, Eyebrow, Jaw, Sunglasses

Dr. Martha George Rogers Ripley, c. 1905 (photograph by Marcus W. Owens)

Forehead, Hair, Head, Chin

Julia B. Nelson, c. 1866

Hairstyle, Jaw, Art, Monochrome photography

Gratia Countryman, 1917

Face, Glasses, Art, Painting

Emily Gilman Noyes

Jaw, Art, Smile, Self-portrait

Members of the Political Equality Club in 1915. Ethel Edgerton Hurd is center in the back row. (Minnesota Historical Society)

Standing, Motor vehicle, Headgear, Chair

Maud Conkey Stockwell

Outerwear, Black, Sleeve, Art

Professor Maria Sanford, 1918

Art, Painting, Vintage clothing, Wrinkle

Nanny Mattson Jaeger, 1919 (Library of Congress)

Jaw, Iris, Flash photography, Vintage clothing

Josephine S. Simpson (Minnesota Historical Society)

Sleeve, Headgear, Tints and shades, Art

Fanny Fligelman Brin. c. 1925 (photograph by Eugene G. Garrett)

Forehead, Hair, Nose, Cheek

Josephine Schain with Eugene C. Gibney, 1920

Hat, Standing, Gesture, Window

Sarah Colvin as National Chairman of the Women's Party, 1918

Plant, Building, Art, Tints and shades

Clara Hampson Ueland, c. 1918

Forehead, Jaw, Sleeve, Art

Nellie Griswold Francis, c. 1924

Hairstyle, Eyebrow, Hat, Sleeve

Anna Dickie Olesen, c. 1922

Face, Hair, Forehead, Chin

Bertha Berglin Moller

Face, Eyebrow, Smile, Cap

The woman seated at the center of this photo is likely Marguerite Milton Wells (Minnesota Historical Society)

Chair, Table, Hat, Vintage clothing

Alice Ames Winter, c. 1923

Forehead, Face, Head, Hairstyle

Mabeth Hurd Paige, c. 1925

Face, Hat, Fur clothing, Headgear

Myrtle Cain

Forehead, Head, Hairstyle, Eyebrow

The process of erecting this monument on the Minnesota State Capitol grounds began in 1994 when the League of Women Voters of Minnesota formed a committee to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the 19th Amendment ratification. In addition to planning commemoration events in 1995 the committee worked with the Capitol Area Architectural Planning Board to create a monument to the Women’s Suffrage Movement on the Capitol grounds.

The Nineteenth Amendment Celebration Committee requested designs for a memorial garden that would feature the suffragist colors of yellow, white, and purple. The winning design by Ralph Nelson, Raveevarn Choksombachai, and Martha McQuade of Loom Studio and Roger Grothe of Aloha Landscaping is titled “Garden of Time: Landscape of Change.” The committee raised $500,000 to fund the project from the state legislature and private donations. The groundbreaking ceremony was held on August 26, 1998 and the memorial was dedicated on August 26, 2000 (the 80th anniversary of the 19th Amendment ratification).

The design of the garden is meant to mimic the natural landscape of Minnesota and was originally planted with bulbs and wildflowers in the suffragist colors. Along one end of the garden is a 90-foot steel trellis that features the names of 25 leaders of the Minnesota suffrage movement. The trellis symbolizes the timeline of the suffrage movement in the state and nation with each vertical pole representing a year in the movement and the horizontal pieces corresponding with the lifetime of each featured suffragist. As a plaque on the monument states: “The cooperation of women in this movement for significant social change is physically reflected in the construction of the trellis. Each element while being singularly important cannot stand on its own, but when woven together form a strong unique structure.” There is also a series of tablets detailing the fight for the vote in Minnesota. Many of the original plantings did not survive so the landscape architects of Aloha Landscaping returned in 2004 to refurbish the gardens with hardier plants.

The 25 Minnesota Suffragists Honored on the Memorial Trellis:

Harriet Bishop (1818-1883)

Mary Jackman Colburn (1811-1901)

Jane Grey Swisshelm (1815-84)

Sarah Burger Stearns (1836-1904)

Martha Rogers Ripley (1843-1912)

Julia Bullard Nelson (1842-1914)

Gratia Countryman (1866-1953)

Emily Gilman Noyes (1854-1930)

Ethel Edgerton Hurd (1845-1929)

Maud Conkey Stockwell (1863-1958)

Maria Sanford (1836-1920)

Nanny Mattson Jaeger (1859-1938)

Josephine Sarles Simpson (1862-1948)

Fanny Fligelman Brin (1884-1961)

Josephine Schain (1886-1972)

Sarah Tarleton Colvin (1865-1949)

Clara Hampson Ueland (1860-1927)

Nellie Griswold Francis (1874-1969)

Elizabeth Hunt Harrison (1848-1931)

Anna Dickie Olesen (1885-1971)

Bertha Berglin Moller (1888-unknown)

Marguerite Milton Wells (1872-1959)

Alice Ames Winter (1865-1944)

Mabeth Hurd Paige (1870-1961)

Myrtle Cain (1894-1980)

Cameron, Linda A. “Minnesota Woman Suffrage Memorial, St. Paul.” MNopedia. September 5, 2019. Accessed June 24, 2021. https://www.mnopedia.org/thing/minnesota-woman-suffrage-memorial-st-paul

Holste, Glenda Crank. “No Fireworks, Just Pride Bursting in Air.” Women’s eNews. August 20, 2000. Accessed June 24, 2021. https://womensenews.org/2000/08/no-fireworks-just-pride-bursting-air/.

“Minnesota Woman Suffrage Memorial, Cedar Avenue at Martin Luther King Boulevard, Saint Paul, Minnesota.” Placeology. October 12, 2016. Accessed June 24, 2021. http://www.placeography.org/index.php/Minnesota_Woman_Suffrage_Memorial,_Cedar_Avenue_at_Martin_Luther_King_Boulevard,_Saint_Paul,_Minnesota.

Image Sources(Click to expand)

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"Minnesota Woman Suffrage Memorial." Wikipedia. Accessed June 24, 2021. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minnesota_Woman_Suffrage_Memorial.

Google Maps. Accessed June 24, 2021.

"Minnesota Woman Suffrage Memorial." Wikipedia. Accessed June 24, 2021. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minnesota_Woman_Suffrage_Memorial.

"Minnesota Woman Suffrage Memorial." Wikipedia. Accessed June 24, 2021. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minnesota_Woman_Suffrage_Memorial.

"Minnesota Woman Suffrage Memorial." Wikipedia. Accessed June 24, 2021. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minnesota_Woman_Suffrage_Memorial.

"Minnesota Woman Suffrage Memorial." Wikipedia. Accessed June 24, 2021. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minnesota_Woman_Suffrage_Memorial.

"Harriet Bishop." Wikipedia. Accessed June 24, 2021. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harriet_Bishop.

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"Gratia Countryman." Wikipedia. Accessed June 24, 2021. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gratia_Countryman.

Rhoda R. Gilman. "'A Beautiful, High-Minded Woman': Emily Gilman Noyes and Woman Suffrage." Ramsey County History Vol 32, No. 3 (Fall 1997): 18-20. Accessed June 24, 2021. https://www.rchs.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/RCHS_Fall1997_Gilman.pdf.

"Political Equality Club leaders." MNopedia. Accessed June 24, 2021. https://www.mnopedia.org/multimedia/political-equality-club-leaders.

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Harris & Ewing, Washington, D.C. Mrs. Sarah Colvin of St. Paul, newly elected National chairman of the Woman's Party, who participated in all the suffrage demonstrations. Picture taken duringpicketing in front of Jackson Place Headquarters on Lafayette Square. United States Minnesota St. Paul, 1918. Photograph. https://www.loc.gov/item/mnwp000355/. Accessed June 24, 2021. https://www.loc.gov/resource/mnwp.149010.

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"Francis, Nellie (1874-1969)." MNopedia. Accessed June 24, 2021. https://www.mnopedia.org/person/francis-nellie-1874-1969.

"Olesen, Anna Dickie (1885-1971)." MNopedia. Accessed June 24, 2021. https://www.mnopedia.org/person/olesen-anna-dickie-1885-1971.

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