LAKEPORT, Calif. – Woman suffrage supporters in Lake County were active during both the 1896 and 1911 suffrage campaigns in California.
Women in California gained the right to vote in 1911, nine years before the 19th Amendment to the United States Constitution was ratified.
Carolynn Williams of the Lake County Museum and Jan Cook of the Lake County Library will speak about Lake County’s suffragists at September’s Know Lake County program.
The free program will be held at the Lakeport branch of the Lake County Library at 1425 N. High St. on Saturday, Sept. 16, at 2 p.m.
The 1896 suffrage campaign included a strong connection to temperance issues. Many suffragists, both in Lake County and elsewhere in California, also belonged to the Women’s Christian Temperance Union and promoted votes for women as a means of controlling alcohol.
By 1911, suffragists were no longer linked to temperance, which may have contributed to the victory for universal suffrage in California.
Lake County produced one woman who participated in pro-suffrage demonstrations in Washington D.C. during World War I, leading up to the passage of the 19th Amendment.
Beatrice Reynolds Kinkead, born in Lake County, was arrested in 1917 while demonstrating with other “Silent Sentinels” in front of the White House.
Carolynn Williams attended the College of the Redwoods as a history major specializing in women’s studies.
She worked for national and international women’s organizations before relocating to Lake County.
Her role with the Lake County Museums is public outreach and graphic design.
Williams researched temperance and suffrage for the newest exhibit and the Courthouse Museum, “Political Citizens: National Politics in Lake County.”
She and Cook, of both the Lake County Library and the Lake County Historical Society, researched and wrote the suffrage portion of the exhibit.
The Know Lake County lectures feature speakers from a wide array of organizations and disciplines, each representing some aspect of Lake County.
The Lake County Library is on the internet at http://library.lakecountyca.gov and Facebook at www.Facebook.com/LakeCountyLibrary.
Jan Cook is a technician with the Lake County Library.
‘Know Lake County’ to discuss history of county’s suffragists Sept. 16
- Jan Cook
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