March is Women’s History Month, a time to reflect on the frequently overlooked contributions of women in our society, so we wanted to share some ways you can learn about the fascinating local women who made history.
While St. Pete’s founding fathers, Peter Demens and John C. Williams, rightfully earned their place in history, an exhibit at the St. Petersburg Museum of History pays due homage to the many women who played a role in the growth and development of the Sunshine City.
Meddling: The Women Who Built St. Pete features archival photographs, artifacts and video to tell the story of the ladies whose transformative ideas, clubs and activism helped in moving the city forward. It first debuted in June of 2023 and has since become a permanent exhibit. The exhibit was made possible through funding by the Adelphi Trust Company, the first trust company in Florida founded, owned and led by women.
The idea came from Museum of History archivist Jessy Breckenridge, who curated the exhibit, spending months researching city archives.
“The more I researched, the more I realized the impact that so many women had on building St. Pete,” she offers. “I wanted to highlight them and how they made a difference in society. These women made St. Petersburg what it is today.”
The exhibit takes its name from a time when women were regularly chastised for "meddling" in matters that men considered "not their concern" and for having the courage to step beyond gender norms into male-dominated spaces. These so-called meddlesome women went on to become pioneering civic leaders, educators, politicians and civil rights activists.
The exhibit is divided into sections, beginning with “Pioneer Women” who lived here in the late 1800s. The “Civic Leaders” section spotlights such prominent figures as educator Johnnie Ruth Clarke, activist Mary Wyatt Allen, founder of the Museum of Fine Arts Margaret Acheson Stuart and Mary Wheeler Eaton, who started the St. Petersburg Museum of History. It also highlights the first women’s club in St. Pete, the Woman’s Town Improvement Association, formed in 1901 to transform the overgrown, untamed Williams Park into an attractive community gathering spot. The club became an integral part of the earliest city planning, with a mission to beautify downtown with parks, gardens, sidewalks and public benches. They opened a headquarters in 1913 on 1st Avenue North across from Williams Park.
The struggle for suffrage and the women’s right to vote brought many female activists and speakers from the region together, including Lillian Rusling who is credited with organizing the first suffrage parade held in Florida. In the “Suffrage” section, photos depict a vibrant community of brave women engaged in various activities to support the cause.
In 1919, St. Petersburg voted to allow women the right to vote in municipal elections–one year before equal suffrage was granted nationally. The Equal Suffrage League of St. Petersburg was eventually replaced by the current League of Women Voters of the St. Petersburg Area.
The current exhibit covers 30 significant women with another 30 featured through a video slide show. The slide show includes modern-day political figures and community leaders such as activist/business owner Leslie Curran, former deputy mayor Kanika Tomlinson and State Representative Lindsay Cross.
Recognizing the exhibit’s growing popularity and the strong interest from the community, the museum’s leadership has discussed broadening the exhibit even further.
“It’s likely we’ll be expanding the exhibit in the near future,” Breckenridge explains. “We’ve had some local residents contact us with information on women they recommend including.”
If you know of women who have significantly contributed to St. Pete history and have materials that would be of interest or would like to learn more about the current collection, visit spmoh.com.
