FARMINGTON — Isabel Greenwood, wife of Farmington’s Chester Greenwood, was an accomplished figure in Maine history in her own right. An important figure in Maine’s suffrage movement, Isabel was a driving force for women’s right to vote.
The president of the Franklin County Equal Suffrage organization, which hosted the Maine Woman Suffrage Association at the Old South Church in Farmington in 1907.
A marker recognizing Isabel has been placed in front of Old South Church, and will be publicly unveiled on August 18 at 1 p.m.
While this celebration had been planned for 2020, it was postponed due to the pandemic and supply shortages that delayed the production of the sign.
The marker was sponsored by the William C. Pomeroy Foundation and is part of the National Votes for Women trail, a network of landmarks dedicated to the fight for a woman’s right to vote in the United States. The trail focuses on the “untold story of suffrage for all women, of all ethnicities, that extends well past the passage of the 19th amendment.”
Author and lecturer Anne B. Gass, who focuses on women’s rights and their history, will speak at the unveiling.
Michaela Carney, a member of the Farmington Historical Society, will talk about Isabel and her work in the suffrage movement in Franklin County.
Following the unveiling, the Farmington Historical Society and the Old South Church will host a tea in the church vestry.
More information on the Greenwoods may be found at the Titcomb House, 118 Academy Street in Farmington. The Community Room in the Titcomb House holds the Farmington Historical Society’s displays on the Greenwoods, including Isabel’s wedding dress and Chester’s typewriter and adding machine for his business.
