Her Story: Admirable Lady Hoosiers

Introduction

My topic for this trail through Indiana history is Admirable Lady Hoosiers. The women that will be talked about in this trail have done remarkable and important work that helped them make their mark in Indiana history that deserves to be recognized. Some doing specific work for women's rights and women's flourishing, and others achieving goals that have not been done before as a woman. Often times in history, women and their attributes get looked over and not spoken of. With this tour, I aim to make an effort in changing that by including these women in my history trail. I will highlight and take a look at the background of their historic accomplishments. A few of the sites that I chose were made specifically in honor of the significant female figures, which I think makes a great site because it shows their work did not go without celebration and did make an impact. Other sites showcase centers and organizations significant for the women of their time that did not have access to these kind of resources as women, or women of color. The conclusion readers can draw from this tour is that there are many women in Indiana history that have made inspiring accomplishments that you probably have not heard of before, further showing that women are often forgotten or not recognized as much in history.  

This site is very important as it was Indiana’s first ever Woman’s Right Convention held in the town of Dublin in 1851. This initiated the first major push for female rights in Indiana. The convention adopted resolutions for political, social, and financial rights for women. The attendees were women and men who stood for abolition, temperance, and wanted to end suffrage.  The next year, in 1852, the convention formed the Indiana Woman’s Rights Association to promote unity for women’s rights. The exact location of this marker is at 39° 48.725′ N, 85° 12.486′ W., Cumberland Street (U.S. 40) west of Davis Street, in front of the Town Hall. The location on a map can be found here at this link,  Historical Marker Database Map (hmdb.org).  As previously stated, this convention was a crucial step forward for women’s equality in Indiana which is why I chose to include it in my tour and as the first stop. Sources that provided me with information to this site are The Historical Marker Database, and IndyStar. 

Next, the image above shows a picture of The Indianapolis Propylaeum that was founded in 1888 by seven women and led by May Wright Sewall. The Indianapolis Propylaeum is a social, literary, and cultural club for women, originally as a space for women to meet outside of church or the tearoom. The idea started when Sewall and the 6 other women were looking for a place to have their meetings for the Indianapolis Woman’s Club. They decided to create a stock company composed of solely women that would run their various clubs there.  

This site is significant because May Wright Sewall was a chairman of the executive committee of the National Woman Suffrage Association as well as being elected president of the corporation and the Propylaeum is a nonprofit organization that has a mission to connect and celebrate women. Which I think is something that must have meant a lot for women to have during the late 1800s since there were many organizations and clubs strictly just for men. In 1888, it was a center of cultivation for the women of Indianapolis that aimed to welcome women to use their voice, and inspire leadership. May Wright Sewall was known for her services helping women’s suffrage and women’s organizations not just in Indiana, but worldwide. The sources I used to gather my research on this site are the official Indianpolis Propylaeum Records, and the Propylaeum’s official website.

In the image above is the Madame C.J. Walker Legacy Center. This site is important because before her death in 1919, Madame C.J. Walker had started working on her plans to build the Walker Theatre as a center for entertainment and business for the city of Indianapolis’s African American population. As the first female self-made millionaire in America, Madame C.J. Walker is a very significant woman in Indiana history, as well as women’s history in general. Thanks to her homemade line of hair care products for black women being extremely successful, her beauty business helped black women enhance their appearance and created opportunities for work in hairdressing and sales agents. These women were referred to as “Walker Agents”. Madame Walker relocated her business to Indianapolis in 1910 after being impressed with the city. The Legacy Center is an integral part of the Indianapolis community, it provides cultural education, promotion of social justice, youth empowerment in the business world, and leadership. This historic building serves as a venue for celebrating cultural diversity, heritage, and traditions primarily from the African-American perspective. This building and Madame C.J. Walker is very significant as Walker was the very first self made woman millionaire, her memory brings pride for the African American community and women. The sources I used to learn this information is first being the official website for the Legacy center, the IUPUI Event and Conference Services page, and the IndyStar news article, all listed below.  

This site is significant to my tour of Admirable Lady Hoosiers because since 1927, the Clubhouse of the Indiana Federation of Colored Women’s Clubs has been at this location. Lillian Thomas Fox, was the first African American woman to be hired as a journalist with the Indianapolis News, in 1904. During the first meeting, the federation passed resolutions against lynching in favor of racial justice. The Colored Women’s Clubs stood for education, understanding among people of different races, and improving health. Lillian Thomas Fox was a leading member of the Indianapolis African American community, she organized this federation as part of a national movement aiming to organize Black women’s clubs and promote Black community life with the saying, “Step by step we reach the heights”. This federation was very important for the African American community and Black women of color as it also pursued civil rights activism, sponsored fund raising activites, and established a scholarship fund. The sources I used to find this information are the Indiana Historical Bureau, and the Encyclopedia of Indianapolis.  

In 1893, with thanks to the support of multiple Black women’s clubs, Mary Ellen Cable initiated the first "fresh air" classroom for Black children who suffered from tuberculous at the Public School No. 4. She went on to be the director of practice teaches and saw to it that over 60 African American teachers enter the classrooms. Cable also became a principal and supervisor during her 45 year career at Indianapolis Public Schools, where she taught at five different schools. A little further down the line, she also went on to be the president of the Colored Women's Civic Club in 1912 and organized the first Indiana Chapter of the National Association For The Advancement Of Colored People. Making her the first president of said association in Indiana. There was a school named in her honor on N. Blackfort St. In Indianapolis that is unfortunately no longer existing today due to an asbestos contamination, but the Cable House, an IUPUI student residence resides as shown in the image. The sources I used to find this information is the Encyclopedia of Indianapolis and the Historical Marker Database.

At the final stop of the Admirable Lady Hoosier history tour, this is the Landman & Beatty Law firm located at 151 N. Delaware St. At this law firm worked U.S. Attorney Virginia Dill McCarty, who graduated from the Indiana University School of Law in Indianapolis in 1950 where she was at the top of her class and an editor of the Indiana Law Journal. Virginia is known to have been a woman of many "firsts". She founded and served as the president of the Indiana Woman's Political Caucus, was the first woman to be nominated by a major party for both judge and attorney general in Marion County, and was the first woman to serve a complete term as a U.S. after she was appointed by 39th President Jimmy Carter. McCarty had remarkable achievements as a woman in Indiana, she also went on to become the first woman to run for governor who was passionate about gender issues involving equal pay and housing discrimination. She even became the Indianapolis Star's "Woman of the Year" as well as earning the Indiana University's Distinguished Alumni Service Award. This site is significant because it is where McCarty practiced law up until her death at age 81. The source I used to obtain this information is the Encyclopedia of Indianapolis.

Citations in order of appearance

Rudavsky, Shari. “Ground-Breaking Sites for Women in Indianapolis.” The Indianapolis Star, March 23, 2014.  https://www.indystar.com/story/life/2014/03/21/indiana-womens-history-trail/6711737/ . 

“Indiana's First Woman's Rights Convention Historical Marker.” Historical Marker, June 28, 2020.  https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=270 . 

“Discover the Propylaeum: Historic Old Northside Mansion.” The Indianapolis Propylaeum. Accessed December 7, 2022.  https://www.thepropylaeum.org/about-the-propylaeum-indy . 

Brockman, Paul. “Indianapolis Propylaeum Records, 1888-1997 - Indiana Historical Society.” Indianapolis Propylaeum Records, April 7, 1998.  https://indianahistory.org/wp-content/uploads/indianapolis-propylaeum-records-1888-1997.pdf . 

“About Us.” Madam Walker Legacy Center, July 16, 2021.  https://madamwalkerlegacycenter.com/about-us/ . 

“Madam Walker Legacy Center.” IUPUI Event & Conference Services. Accessed December 7, 2022.  https://eventservices.iupui.edu/madam-walker.html . 

Rudavsky, Shari. “Ground-Breaking Sites for Women in Indianapolis.” The Indianapolis Star, March 23, 2014.  https://www.indystar.com/story/life/2014/03/21/indiana-womens-history-trail/6711737/ . 

“Indiana Federation of Colored Women's Clubs.” Indiana Historical Bureau, July 30, 2022.  https://www.in.gov/history/state-historical-markers/find-a-marker/indiana-federation-of-colored-womens-clubs/ . 

Devadasan, Neil. “Indiana Federation of Colored Women's Clubs.” indyencyclopedia.org, December 6, 2022.  https://alfpolis.sitehost.iu.edu/indiana-federation-of-colored-women-s-clubs/ . 

Jones, Devry Becker. “Mary Cable / School No. 4 Site Historical Marker.” Historical Marker, December 28, 2019.  https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=132760 . 

Ferguson, Earline Rae. “Mary Ellen Cable.” indyencyclopedia.org, November 15, 2022.  https://indyencyclopedia.org/mary-ellen-cable/ . 

Wilson, Laura Merrifield. “Virginia Dill McCarty.” indyencyclopedia.org, June 13, 2022.  https://indyencyclopedia.org/virginia-dill-mccarty/ .