PENDLETON, Ore.-A traveling exhibit chronicling the history of the suffrage movement in the United States is now on display in Pendleton.
Votes for Women: A Portrait of Persistence will be on display at the Umatilla County Historical Society’s Heritage Station Museum until December 30.
The exhibit highlights women’s political activism, explores the racism that challenged universal suffrage, and documents the ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment, which prohibits the government from denying U.S. citizens the right to vote based on gender.
“We often forget that the constitution is a living document and that in order for us to have the rights guaranteed to us by those amendments, someone had to take up the cause,” said Shannon Gruenhagen, Executive Director of the UCHS. “This exhibit is a good example of how those rights were won.”
Votes for Women is based on the National Portrait Gallery exhibit of the same name and is organized by the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibit Service.
The Smithsonian American Women’s History Initiative, Because of Her Story, which works to research, collect, document display and share the contributions of women in American history, also supported the exhibit.
“No matter what the politics are today or even 10 years from now, understanding the monumental effort that went into all constitutional amendments, can give us a new appreciation for the constitution and what our ancestors went through to ensure we would live our lives without some of the hardships they experienced,” said Gruenhagen.
Lithograph by Egbert C. Jacobson Courtesy of Schlesinger Library, Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, Harvard University
The display featuring photos and posters also touches on the relevance of the suffrage movement in regard to current national conversations concerning voting rights, according to the UCHS.
“Traveling exhibits are a great way to experience museums that we might not often have the chance to travel to on our own,” said Gruenhagen. “This is our third traveling exhibit for 2025 and the first we have received from the Smithsonian Institute Traveling Exhibit Service aka SITES.”
Heritage Station Museum, located at 108 SW Frazer, is open from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. Admission is $10 for adults, $8 for seniors, $8 for Veterans and active-duty military, and $5 for students, children 5 and under are free.
Admission for families (2 adults and 2 children) is $20 and yearly memberships are available for $50 for an individual, $70 for a family and $100 for a business.
