North Carolina Women making History -- by Wanda Lassiter

The Museum of the Albemarle newest travelling exhibit focuses on women in history. North Carolina Women Making History traces the lives of ordinary women from 1585 to the mid-1990s. Throughout time, women have traditionally held private roles in our society including caring for the sick, raising families, maintaining households and educating children. Over the years a woman’s role extended beyond the home to include roles in politics, economics, and even the military.

In the exhibit, visitors, will catch a glimpse into the lives of women such as Elizabeth Horniblow (tavern operator in Edenton, NC), Harriet Jacobs (former slave and author also from Edenton), Charlotte Hawkins Brown (who opened the Palmer Memorial Institute in Sedalia, NC), and Lillian Exum Clement (first woman elected to the NC General Assembly).

Photographs on the exhibit panels reflect young girls working in textile mills, students at Elizabeth City State Colored Normal School, female nurses during World War II, women protesting the use of nuclear power, and a Cherokee woman in her mountain home.

The exhibit is currently on display at the Camden County Public Library but will be available to other institutions across North Carolina very soon. The exhibit is free to borrow.

The Museum of the Albemarle also has several other exhibits that can travel across North Carolina and Southeastern Virginia. These include: Memorable Sands: Beaches of Northeast North Carolina and Southeast Virginia; Steeped in Time: Tea and Traditions; Louis C. Tiffany: Art and Innovation; Posts from the Coast; and Flying Kites with Delia. Please call 252-335-1453 if you are interested in having these travelling exhibits on display at your institution.