It's been just over 100 years since women earned the right to vote in America, and the Auglaize County Historical Society is commemorating it. The Riverside Art Center in Wapakoneta is the next site of a traveling history exhibit curated by the organization Ohio History Connection. It is titled "Ohio Women Vote: 100 Years of Change", and it showcases the efforts made by Ohio women over decades to earn the right to vote. Although the 100-year anniversary was technically in 2020, the pandemic postponed the event. However, the Administrator of the Auglaize County Historical Society, Rachel Barber, says it's not too late to celebrate.

Members of the Lima League of Women voters and local officials unveiled a historic marker honoring Bessie Crayton, President of the Political Equality Club, which later became the League of Women Voters. Crayton organized a parade of 1,500 supporters of women’s suffrage who marched through Lima on October 20th, 1914. You can view the marker in Lima’s Town Square in front of the City Building.

This year marks 100 years since the 19th Amendment was ratified giving women the right to vote, but an organization in Lima is also celebrating a century worth of hard work.

After women were given the right to vote in 1920, many of the women who fought for suffrage wanted to continue standing up for what they thought was right and making a difference in politics. That’s how the League of Women Voters in the Lima Area was formed.