'Extraordinary Women' Exhibit Debuts Saturday at History Center

ST. PAUL -- An exhibit celebrating the women of Minnesota opens this Saturday. The 'Extraordinary Women' exhibit is at the Minnesota History Center.

Exhibit Developer Kate Roberts says it was originally supposed to open last fall to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the ratification of the 19th Amendment giving women the right to vote. But, she says they've retooled it to debut now during Women's History Month.

She says one of her favorite women featured is Bertha Moller.

She lives in the cities but she was the person who was sent out statewide to recruit women across the state. She wrote these wonderful letters that we have in our collection from Crookston, and Thief River Falls, etc. She's talking about making friends and making alliances.

Roberts says they have 22 women featured in the exhibit gallery and a total of 43 women featured on the companion website.

Roberts says unfortunately we didn't save as many artifacts related to women in our past as we did for men, but they still have put together some interesting pieces for the displays.

We have a woman named Nellie Francis - an African American woman living in St. Paul - who pretty much single-handedly pushed through an anti-lynching bill in 1921 through the Minnesota Legislature.

Roberts says the bill was passed just one year after the Duluth lynchings in 1920 and a copy of that bill is part of the exhibit.

She says the goal of the exhibit is to hopefully inspire visitors to think about making a difference of their own.

The Minnesota History Center in St. Paul is open Thursdays through Sundays.