Votes For Women - Des Moines, IA - Iowa Historical Markers on Waymarking.com

Along Finkbine Drive at the west steps up to the Iowa State Capitol Building is a historical marker dedicated to Mary J. Coggeshall(January 17, 1836–December 22, 1911). "Coggeshall not only lectured and wrote on suffrage, she got involved in a major lawsuit. In 1894, the state of Iowa had passed a law allowing women to vote in city bond elections. In 1908, when the city of Des Moines defied this law and denied women ballots in just such an election, Coggeshall brought a lawsuit against the city. The Iowa Supreme Court held that the election was void because women, as a class were barred from voting."

This historical marker was dedicated in 2020 on the Centennial of the 19th Amendment which gave women the right to vote. The text reads:

VOTES FOR WOMEN
MARY J. COGGESHALL 1836-1911
WRITER, ORATOR, AND LEADER
Mrs. Coggeshall Directed And
Inspired The Women's Suffrage
Movement In Iowa. She Lobbied
Here For The Vote.

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Date Logged Log User Rating   04/29/2023 SweetPea57 visited it