Beyond the Vote: Florida Women’s Activism

On August 26, 1920, the Nineteenth Amendment granting women the right to vote officially became a part of the U.S. Constitution. The Museum is excited to commemorate the legacy of this milestone event with Beyond the Vote: Florida Women’s Activism, an exhibit showcasing the history of women’s activism in Florida. The exhibit discusses the women’s club movement, the suffrage movement, and explores other major reform efforts, such as environmental preservation, civil rights, women’s rights, and more. It concludes with a brief look at women’s activism today. Beyond the Vote contains more than 80 artifacts, as well as photographs, and video and audio clips that help to interpret Florida women’s activism.

20th of May— Emancipation in Florida

The Knott House Museum and the John G. Riley Museum host an annual celebration of  the 20th of May.  Information on previous celebrations can be found on the Knott House Museum's Facebook page. Learn more about this event and other community activities here.

On January 1, 1863, President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, freeing enslaved people in the rebelling Southern states. More than two years later, on May 10, 1865, Union General Edward McCook arrived in Tallahassee to take possession of the city from Southern forces. General McCook established his headquarters at the Hagner House, now known as the Knott House. On May 20, he declared the Emancipation Proclamation in effect. Former slaves celebrated this announcement with a picnic at Bull Pond, today's Lake Ella. Annually since 1865, communities in Tallahassee have celebrated May 20th as Emancipation Day.

Florida's Female Pioneers

Dr. Peggy Macdonald examines the lives of women who have shaped Florida including Dr. Esther Hill Hawks, a physician who ran the first racially-integrated free school in Florida; Harriet Beecher Stowe, famous for writing Uncle Tom's Cabin and who kick-started Florida's tourism industry with her 1873 book, Palmetto Leaves; and Betty Mae Tiger Jumper. the first and only female Florida Seminole Tribal Chair and the first elected female tribal chair of any federally recognized American Indian tribe in the nation.

Florida's Territorial Bicentennial

Florida—the ancestral homeland of varied indigenous peoples—became a United States Territory in 1821, thus ending more than 250 years of Spanish and British rule. To engage the public in learning more about this important transitional time in Florida’s history, the Florida Department of State (DOS) will highlight its territorial and early statehood period resources in 2021.

More information here