This tour was curated by: Association of MIT Alumnae (AMITA)

In Her Footsteps

Entries on This Tour

1. Former Residence of Katharine Dexter McCormick: Biologist, Suffragist, Socialite Smuggler, Millionaire Philanthropist & Patron of the Pill

During her lifetime, Katharine Dexter McCormick (1875-1967) fearlessly pioneered the future of women’s rights in innumerable ways. McCormick was one of MIT’s early female graduates, earning an SB in Biology in 1904. While at MIT, she resided with her mother at 393 Commonwealth Avenue. This family home remained one of her residences until her death at age 92.McCormick’s leadership in women’s suffrage spanned her early involvement with local Massachusetts organizations to her positions as Vice President and Treasurer of the two-million-member strong National American Woman Suffrage Alliance (NAWSA) and internationally, as Corresponding Secretary and Board Member of the International Woman Suffrage Association (IWSA). Determined to continue empowering women after passage of the 19th Amendment, she later turned her focus to gaining women access to birth control. At a time when women’s contraception lived in the shadows, McCormick became an unlikely smuggler, successfully entering hundreds of banned diaphragms into the US, often having them sewn into the latest fashions she’d purchased in Europe. Arguably her most important contribution, however, was single-handedly funding the development and commercialization of the world’s first birth control pill.

2. When Women March - Boston’s Great Suffrage Parades of 1914 & 1915

“Two of the most effective bits of propaganda of the referendum campaign were the two great parades held in Boston in 1914 and ‘15. [...] Just why seeing women walk down the street in parade should convince men to vote for suffrage is a mystery, but it did so by the thousands. Probably because it gave them visual proof that the women who wanted suffrage were ordinary representative women - homemakers, mothers, daughters, teachers, working women - and not the unsexed freaks the antis declared they were.”3 Florence Hope Luscomb (MIT 1909 S.B. Architecture)

3. Former Home of Eugenia Brooks Frothingham: Musician, Artist, Novelist, and Suffragist

Born in Paris on November 17, 1873, Eugenia Brooks Frothingham lived at 476 Beacon Street from 1897 to 1922. During this time, she attended classes at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and published five novels. In 1914, Eugenia co-founded the Writer's Equal Suffrage League, an organization of women and men who advocated for women's right to vote, was elected Vice-President at their inaugural annual meeting and marched with the Writers Division in Boston's first Suffrage Parade. By the time Eugenia penned Fears of the Anti-Suffragist, she had established herself as a musician, artist, best-selling novelist, and suffragist.

4. Former Home of Mabel Clapp Lord - Public Health Advocate & Anti-Suffragist who Registered to Vote

From her home here, Mabel Clapp Lord led a life committed to social reform, advocating for safe, affordable housing, improvements in public health, and, for a time, against women’s suffrage. In February 1910, at a hearing to amend the Massachusetts State Constitution, Mabel, representing those opposed to women’s suffrage, remarked, “There was nothing progressive in producing new burdens for women.”3 Eight years later, Mabel shed her anti-suffrage stance and registered to vote.16

5. Former Home of Mary Baker Strong - An Active Anti-Suffragist

Mary Baker Strong (MIT Class of 1897) purchased 258 Beacon Street in 1892 and lived there until 1897, when she moved to Cambridge. The June 1909 Cambridge Chronicle announced, "Cambridge is not only the home of some strong woman suffragists but also of some equally active anti-woman suffragists. Mrs. Charles P. Strong, of 24 Concord Avenue, is corresponding secretary of the Massachusetts association opposed to the further extension of suffrage to women." 17 Founded in 1895, MAOFESW was the oldest and strongest anti-woman suffrage organization in the United States. Mary's active involvement through 1921, including her role as the corresponding secretary, contributions to the MAOFESW annual journal, The Remonstrance, and public anti-suffrage advocacy, is a testament to her unwavering dedication and influence within the organization.2,10

6. Site of MWSA, BESAGG, the Woman's Journal and other Massachusetts Suffrage Groups 1909-1920

You are looking at a building which once housed many different women’s groups working towards women’s suffrage and other worthy causes. 585 Boylston was known as Chauncy Hall. In 1909 the New England Woman’s Club (NEWC) moved in.1 Clubs like this one provided information to women through lectures by prominent individuals, as well as providing ways for women to advance themselves through leadership roles. Interestingly, the club often shared space with the New England Woman Suffrage Association which was started by Julia Ward Howe (president of the NEWC), Lucy Stone amongst others at a conference in 1868.2 Although predominantly for women, men could join and many famous men such as Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry James joined and/or gave lectures to the group.3 Many of the women who belonged to the club were also leaders in the suffrage movement.

7. Site of Boston Equal Suffrage Association for Good Government (BESAGG) - Founded by Pauline Agassiz Shaw, Maud Wood Park, & Mary Hutcheson Page

Mary Hutcheson Page (MIT Class of 1888) worked tirelessly for women’s rights and women’s suffrage as a member of many local and national organizations throughout her adult life. Here, at 6 Marlborough Street, Mary, alongside Pauline Agassiz Shaw and Maud Wood Park oversaw the evolution of the Massachusetts suffrage movement as it transformed from the stale, outdated movement of the 19th century into the modern, forward-thinking movement of the 20th century.

8. Nichols House Museum

The Nichols House Museum serves to educate visitors about the lives of women during the 19th and early 20th centuries and the history of the Beacon Hill district of Boston. Located in a townhouse that was built in the early 1800s and was home to Rose Standish Nichols from 1885 until 1960. Rose Standish Nichols was a suffragist and pacifist, as well as an accomplished landscape architect. The museum is open year round and offers an abundance of lectures, programs, special events, and tours.

9. Old City Hall - Meet Boston’s First Women to Hold Elected Office

Lucia M. Peabody (MIT Class of 1878), Abby W. May, Ada Shepard Badger, and Lucretia Crocker were elected to the Boston School Committee in December 1873. Their victory, a significant milestone in the women's suffrage movement, marked a turning point in history. They waged a bitter, months-long battle in City Hall, the Supreme Judicial Court, and the Massachusetts Legislature to claim their seats.The Boston School Committee met at Old City Hall through the 1870s. It oversaw the city's public schools and made critical decisions about curriculum, funding, and school policies. In 1875, the Committee was reorganized, reducing members from 114 to 25. With the decreased attendance, the meetings were held at the School Committee Building at 10 Mason Street.6,18,19

10. Corner of Tremont & Winter Streets - Florence Luscomb Winning Freedom & Justice for Half the Human Race

Taken on the corner of Tremont and Winter, the picture of Florence Hope Luscomb selling the Woman’s Journal is one of the most iconic pictures of the women’s suffrage movement. The photographer may not have realized how symbolic it would become. Florence had grown up with the movement and started attending suffrage meetings with her mother when she was five. In July 1909, just one month after graduating from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology with an S.B. in Architecture, she debuted as a speaker for the groundbreaking Votes for Women open-air campaign that would conduct 97 public meetings to an estimated 24,900 people across Massachusetts. Over the next decade, Florence would become one of the most influential speakers for the women’s suffrage movement, leaving a profound and lasting impact on the cause.

This Tour is a Walking Tour.

In Her Footsteps: MIT Alumnae & the March to Suffrage

Created by Coleen Smith on May 17th 2024, 2:59:52 pm.

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Description

This three-mile self-guided walking tour follows the footsteps of the great 1914 & 1915 Boston Suffrage Parades to discover MIT Suffragists. Find out where they gathered, where they lived as students, and where they found the Woman’s Journal. Along the way, you will meet well-known suffragists, such as Katharine Dexter McCormick and Florence Lucsomb, and discover others from the MIT community dedicated to advancing women's rights. In the last half of the 19th century, the reclaimed land in Boston’s Back Bay resonated with new conversations about higher education and women’s rights. MIT had pioneered a new approach to technical education and began constructing the Rogers Building at 501 Boylston Street. In December 1870, MIT admitted Ellen Swallow Richards, who graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry in 1873 – MIT's First Alumna. Like Ellen, MIT Suffragists leveraged the growing women’s club movement to recruit supporters. They recognized the pivotal role of women’s formal organizations and grassroots networks. On this tour, you will see how they built and used these networks as an advocacy platform. MIT Alumnae & The March to Suffrage is the third installment of AMITA's In Her Footsteps walking tour series. Note: Many of the locations included in this tour are private businesses and homes that are not open to the public.

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