Join RHS on St. Patrick’s Day for this free, family-friendly, interactive walking tour in downtown Lexington, focused on Rockbridge women who impacted local and national histories across the 18th-21th centuries. Tour begins and ends at RHS’ Museum where you can see many artifacts relevant to these specific lives, in the heart of Women’s History Month.
The dozen women chosen for the tour draw from four centuries of local history. They range from the first white female settler in 18th century Rockbridge, to women who survived frontier violence and the 1864 Civil War attack and occupation of Lexington. They constellate 20th and 21st-century performing artists, activists, and community leaders who founded a range of organizations dedicated to preserving history and the environment, cultivating audiences for the arts, music, and literature. In the vital arenas of education, one helped lead the charge to build better schools and relief organizations for local African-American citizens in the 1920s, while another played a key role in finally bringing co-education to one of the oldest universities in the nation, in 1985.
Staff from the Stonewall Jackson House, and George C. Marshall Museum will also share stories along the way, recruited to interpret often underestimated roles that women played in the lives and more traditional narratives chronicling those generals. Questions and conversation are very much encouraged during the walk itself, but before wrapping up at 4:00 PM, attendees can also share their voices, reflections, and direct family ties in quieter, seated discussions at the Museum.
For a full write-up, with illustrated profiles, click HERE