The contributions of countless women in art, politics and local history are on display this month as communities across Frederick County celebrate Women’s History Month with theatrical performances, music and discussions.
Women’s History Month is a national effort that recognizes the history of American women. Organized by the National Women’s History Project, the celebration grew out of a ‘‘Women’s History Week” in Sonoma County, Calif., in 1978. Congress recognized March as ‘‘Women’s History Month” at the request of the Women’s History Project in 1987.
The Frederick Arts Council is recognizing the national Women’s History Month theme, ‘‘Women’s Art: Women’s Vision,” with the Maryland debut of ‘‘Changing the Face of Power: Women in the U.S. Senate,” a photography exhibit. The photos features 14 women Senators, including Maryland Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D). Of the 16 women currently in the U.S. Senate, Mikulski has served the longest.
Photographer Melina Mara displays 38 pictures of the women Senators during public and private moments from 2001 to 2003. Since the Smithsonian Institution unveiled the black-and-white images in 2003, the exhibit has traveled across the country to various museums and universities. This month marks the first time it has been shown in Maryland, said Shuan Butcher, executive director of the Frederick Arts Council.
Frederick County residents don’t have to look to national politics to find women’s history. Several museums and sites across the county routinely offer a glimpse into local women’s history.
The National Shrine of Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton in Emmitsburg offers insight into the saint’s life after she arrived in Frederick County in 1809. Seton founded the American Sisters of Charity, the first sisterhood native to the U.S., and was canonized in 1975, making her the first U.S.-born saint.
In Frederick, the Barbara Fritchie House on West Patrick Street tells the legend of Fritchie, an elderly woman who defiantly waved the Union flag from her window as Confederate troops passed by her house. Her actions inspired a poem by John Greenleaf Whittier in 1863. Fritchie is buried in Mount Olivet Cemetery in Frederick.
The Beatty-Cramer House also tells the story of an early female settler in Frederick County.
In 1732, Susannah Beatty, a widow with eight children, purchased 1,000 acres of land that includes the Beatty-Cramer house. The house is the oldest known and most architecturally unique structure in Frederick County.
The oldest part of the house, built after Beatty’s arrival, is Dutch Colonial architecture, which is seen in historic structures in New York and New Jersey, but is rare in Maryland.
Upcoming events
1 p.m., March 27; Middletown Branch Library, 101 Prospect St., Middletown;
2 p.m., March 30, C. Burr Artz Library, 110 E. Patrick St., Frederick;
6 p.m., March 31, Walkersville Branch Library, 57 W. Frederick St., Walkersville
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