Radical Woman in A Classic Town: Frances Willard of Evanston
January 18 - March 19, 2010
Social reformer Frances Willard (1839-1898) earned a world-wide reputation for her charismatic speaking and for her leadership of the Woman’s Christian Temperance Union (WCTU), the largest and most powerful woman's organization of its time. But Willard always maintained a bond with Evanston, her hometown from 1858 until her death. She also had a strong connection to Northwestern University, where she was the first Dean of Women and a Trustee. At the height of her fame and during her busiest years, she stopped to write A Classic Town (1891), a charming memoir of Evanston's, and Northwestern's, early days.
This exhibit, curated by Assistant University Archivist Janet Olson, examines the complex ties between Willard and the Classic Town that helped shape her vision of the world. Historic photographs, documents, and artifacts from the Northwestern University Archives, along with items on loan from the Frances Willard House Museum, illustrate Willard’s life from her student days at the North Western Female College to her success as an orator, a writer, and a leader of women. Click here for more information.
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