8/6/2025 | Missouri State Museum | Jefferson City, MO
Rural areas were often ignored by national and eastern women's suffrage organizations, but women's suffrage groups in the Midwest learned by the late 19th century that these areas must also be targeted to win the hearts and minds of the electorate. In this program, historian Elyssa Ford will share how rural women in Missouri played an important role in the suffrage movement. Across the state, rural communities engaged in suffrage discussions, invited national speakers who bewitched – and sometimes enraged – local audiences, and supported their own suffrage workers.
Within this world of Missouri suffragists, Ford will highlight the compelling story of Maryville's Alma Nash and her all-women band, which traveled to Washington, D.C., for the national women's suffrage parade in 1913. By analyzing the actions of Nash and company at the parade and at home in the Midwest, it is possible to see how a small group of young, rural women engaged with the suffrage movement and how they were shaped not just by the national suffrage discussion but by the local and often heated suffrage debates within their community.
The Missouri State Museum's Landing After Hours program is held the first Wednesday of each month at Jefferson Landing State Historic Site, located at 100 Jefferson St. Doors to the site’s Lohman Building open at 6:30 p.m., and the program begins at 7 p.m. Convenient parking is available in the lot next to the Lohman Building.
In addition to being held in person, the program will also be livestreamed on the Missouri State Museum’s Facebook page. Did you know that you don't have to have a Facebook account to view Facebook videos or live programs? Simply follow the link and enjoy: facebook.com/MissouriStateMuseum.
For more information about this free program, call the museum at 573-751-2854.
Program Time: 7 p.m. - 8 p.m. | Doors Open: 6:30 p.m.
Program Location:
- In person: Lohman Building, Jefferson Landing State Historic Site, 100 Jefferson St., Jefferson City
- Virtual: Missouri State Museum Facebook page
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Associated activities
- Interpretive Programs