Few statehouses feature memorials to actual historical women of note

Ohio’s Statehouse would join a small number of others around the country with outdoor monuments dedicated to real women in U.S. history under aproposalThursdaytocreate a memorial to Ohio women who fought for voting rights.

Currently, all statues of historical figures outside the Statehouse are of men, including Christopher Columbus, President William McKinley (a former Ohio governor), and seven Civil War generals including Ulysses S. Grant.

“Who are these seven men?” asks a trivia question for tourists at the base of the Civil War statue, which is topped by a statue of a woman from ancient Rome whose sons were prominent in the military and politics. Around the corner, “Peace,” a winged female figure, stands on the north side of the Statehouse, remembering Ohio’s civil war soldiers “And The Loyal Women Of That Period.” Another statue of a generic woman, also representing peace, sits below a statue of McKinley.

On Thursday, members of the Women’s Suffrage Centennial Commission proposed the voting rights memorial to the Capitol Square Review and Advisory Board.

It’s time to include real women on the Statehouse grounds, especially those who fought for such an important right, said State Sen. Stephanie Kunze, a co-chair of the commission. Such a statue would both honor their work and inspire the girls and young women of today, she said.

“It’s deserving to honor the women who fought for the right to vote during this 100th anniversary, and then to really look forward to see what else women are going to achieve in the next 100 years,” said Kunze, a Republican from Hilliard in suburban Columbus.

The capitol review board put off a decision until its April meeting to allow time for the Statehouse architects to consider appropriate locations. But GOP House Speaker Larry Householder, who also chairs the review board, predicted “overwhelming support on this because we understand how important it is and significant to Ohio history.”

Householder recounted how his maternal grandmother always voted once she got the right because she remembered a time when she couldn’t.

If the memorial is approved, fundraising would likely top $1 million and construction could follow after a five-year waiting period.

Nationally, statues of real women are relatively rare on the grounds of statehouses.

Connecticut’s Statehouse features a statue of former Gov. Ella Grasso, the state’s first female governor elected in her own right, while Utah has a statue of Martha Hughes Cannon, the country’s first female state senator.

A statue of Esther Hobart Morris, Wyoming’s first female justice of the peace, stood for years in front of the state Capitol but was moved inside after last year’s renovation, with some calls for it to be returned outside after its own renovation. In Hawaii, the Capitol features a statue of Queen Liliuokalani, the last monarch of the Hawaiian Kingdom.

The Arkansas Capitol has a statue featuring the Little Rock Nine, the black students who integrated Central High School, six of whom were girls.

Arkansas and Mississippi also have monuments to Confederate women featuring figurative representations. “Forward,” an allegorical female statue, stands outside the Wisconsin State Capitol. “As Long as the Waters Flow,” a 13-foot representation of a Native American woman, stands prominently outside the Oklahoma Capitol.

Minnesota has a memorial to women’s suffrage that honors 25 women who fought for voting rights, with an expansive garden that includes their names but no statues.

ANDREW WELSH-HUGGINS — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS “Peace,” a statue on the grounds of the Ohio Statehouse that commemorates Civil War soldiers “And The Loyal Women Of That Period,” stands clear of morning fog on Wednesday in Columbus. The Statehouse grounds don’t include a statue of a real woman from Ohio history, an occurrence the Women’s Suffrage Centennial Commission hopes to remedy by proposing a new memorial honoring the women who fought for the right to vote.