The El Paso County Historical Society (EPCHS) will host several events throughout March to celebrate Women’s History Month. Through talks and an exhibit, EPCHS intends to highlight the lives of prominent local women who contributed to this region’s rich and diverse history.
On March 7, 2020 at 12 p.m., EPCHS welcomes the public to the grand opening of “Women as Social Agents of Change: El Paso Social Housekeepers, 1880-1930,” an exhibit about El Paso suffragettes who advanced women’s involvement in society through activism in the late 19th and 20th centuries. The event, which will take place at the Burges House (603 W. Yandell), will be followed at 2:30 p.m. by a talk by archivist Susan Novick titled “Charity Work and Civic Improvement: Jewish Women’s Activism in El Paso from 1889-1930.” Later in the month, on March 28, 2020 at 11 a.m., UTEP professor Dr. Elisabeth Sommer and local researcher Kathy Pepper will present a talk titled “Modern Woman: Historical Trends in Fashion, 1880-1920” at the Burges House.
Women’s History Month began in Santa Rosa, California in 1978 as a week-long observance. Today, it is celebrated nationally throughout the month of March and is established by presidential proclamation. Women’s History Month is meant to honor the women who transformed the United States through their vision, perseverance, and actions.
“The events to be held at the historical society underscore the local roots of Women’s History Month. So many important local women of different backgrounds have made El Paso and the Southwest better because of their efforts to further the suffrage movement and promote charity work,” says Joseph Longo, curator at the El Paso County Historical Society.
Each event is family-friendly, free, and open to the public. Individuals who cannot attend the opening of the exhibit can visit the Burges House (603 W. Yandell), headquarters of the El Paso County Historical Society, Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The exhibit will run throughout March 2020.
Please call 915-533-3603 or email epchs@elpasohistory.com for more information.
