Looking Back While Looking Forward

The Worcester Women’s History Project is looking back while look-ing forward. In 2002, the Worcester Women’s Heritage Trail booklet was published by WWHP. The booklet outlines the important role Worcester, and our women in particular, had in the struggle for racial and gender equality in the mid-nineteenth century. 

The original plan was to include trail markers throughout Worcester to guide visitors to the many people and places central to our contribution to equal rights for all. A decision was made to focus on the mid-nineteenth century. The guide includes, for example, Abby Kelley Foster. However, because it is about the mid-nineteenth century only, other significant Worcester women, such as Frances Perkins, the first female U.S. Cabinet member and the creator of Social Security, are not in it. The trail guide project began well before Smart Phones were created. Trail markers were costly. 

We have begun the process of updating the trail guide and are working with other groups interested in highlighting important historical locations in Worcester. Now, through easily available technology, we will be able to link simple trail markers to our website so that visitors can readily access information about people and places in a simple and cost-effective way. Allison Chisolm, author of The Inventive Life of Charles Hill Morgan, is working with us to add important people and places that were not in the original guide. She is currently researching Frances Perkins, Emma Goldman, Josephine Wright Chapman and 

Elizabeth Bishop. Technology will allow us to better link the past to the present and future. We welcome your suggestions of people and places to be included in our updated guide. 

Your support on any of our projects and committees is always welcome. If you would like to take an active role on a committee, or if you have some thoughts about other ways we can celebrate women in Worcester, contact us at 508.767.1852 or wwhp.office@gmail.com. 

Please join us as we continue our work in celebrating and advancing racial and gender equality. 

Thank you.