Women’s History Month Film Series at the Museum of Westward Expansion: Each of the following films will be shown in the special exhibits gallery. Films run continuously from 9:15 am to 5:30 pm.

March 1-7:

Dreams of Equality

• Learn about the first public U.S. women’s rights convention.
• This film will also show all month at the Old Courthouse at the bottom of every hour.

March 8-14: 

Eleanor Roosevelt, Close to Home

• Explore the life and work of Eleanor Roosevelt and the issues to which she devoted her intellect and humanitarian concerns.

March 15-21: 

The Maggie Lena Walker Story

• Discover the journey of Walker, who became a prominent civic leader, financier, and businesswoman in Virginia in the early 20^th century.

March 22-30:

Home Front Heroes

• Learn how women and minorities took up jobs traditionally held by white males to help manufacture warships during World War II.

Women’s History Month Ranger Weekend Programs

11:15 am and 3:15 pm,  Saturdays and Sundays at the Museum of Westward Expansion

“Women of the West” Ranger Talk

• An NPS ranger will lead this 25-minute discussion followed by a Q & A.
• “Women of the West” Museum Gazette will be available to take home upon request from the information desk.

3 pm, Saturdays and Sundays at the Old Courthouse

Mock Trials: “Right to Vote: Virginia Minor v. Happersett” or “Segregation Laws in the 1880s: Williams v. Bellefontaine”

• Visitors participate in mock trials by reading scripts, arguing facts, and deciding a verdict in an Old Courthouse historical courtroom.
• The Museum Gazette featuring Virginia Minor will be available to take home upon request from the information Desk.
• A minimum of six visitors is necessary for each mock trial. If not enough visitors are present, a ranger-led discussion session will take place.

March 15 Special Event at the Museum of Westward Expansion

11:15 am

Women of the West Storytelling Event

• NPS ranger Kathy Bommarito portrays a mid-19^th century woman who was part of the westward expansion movement, and leads a 25-minute talk about her journey. A question and answer period will follow the discussion.

12:15 pm

Elizabeth Keckley Storytelling Event

• Local storyteller Carole Shelton portrays Keckley, who was born a slave around 1818 in Virginia, and later moved to St. Louis where she worked as a dressmaker. Keckley bought her freedom and established a dressmaking business in Washington, D.C., eventually becoming Mary Todd Lincoln’s dressmaker and confidante.

1:15 pm

Laura Ingalls Kids’ Interactive Story Time Event

• A NPS ranger will share stories of Laura Ingalls in this interactive story time event for children.

2:15 pm

Making House Calls: The Story of a Pioneer Lady Doctor

• Local storyteller Mary Lu Bretsch is Frances James Ballew, a woman who survived poverty and the hardships of the frontier. She used her experiences as a midwife to become a skilled pioneer doctor who traveled around the early Illinois/Missouri territory to care of her sick neighbors.