Near Watkinsville in Oconee County, Georgia — The American South (South Atlantic)

Jeannette Rankin’s Georgia Home

Photographed By David Seibert, October 29, 2006

1. Jeannette Rankin's Georgia Home Marker

Inscription. Jeannette Rankin (1880-1973) was the first woman to serve in Congress: being elected from Montana in 1916 before women had the right to vote in other states. She was active in women's suffrage and was a peace advocate who opposed all war. She was one of only fifty persons in Congress who voted against entry into WW I. Her position was unpopular and she did not return to Congress. She purchased land near the Oconee-Clarke County line in the twenties and lived there on a seasonal basis. She purchased 44 acres on this site in 1933. She renovated an old farm house and used it as a seasonal residence that became her beloved “Shady Grove”.

In the 1920's she helped found The Georgia Peace Society that worked for over ten years to support the Kellogg-Briand Pact which would have outlawed war as a way of settling disputes. She was reelected to Congress in 1940 from Montana. She cast the only vote against entry into WW II after President Roosevelt's “Day of Infamy Speech”. Steadfastly she remained active in peace movements during the Vietnam Era, participating in the “Jeannette Rankin Brigade” march in Washington on January 15, 1968.

Erected 1992. (Marker Number 108-6.)

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Peace

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• War, Vietnam • War, World I • War, World II • Women. In addition, it is included in the Georgia Historical Society series list. A significant historical date for this entry is January 15, 1968.

Location. 33° 52.518′ N, 83° 26.712′ W. Marker is near Watkinsville, Georgia, in Oconee County. Marker is on Mars Hill Road, ¼ mile west of Hog Mountain Road (Georgia Route 53), on the right. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Watkinsville GA 30677, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 3 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies. Korea / Vietnam / Operation Enduring Freedom / Operation Iraqi Freedom KIA Memorial (approx. 2.1 miles away); World War II Killed in Action Memorial (approx. 2.1 miles away); World War I Killed in Action Memorial (approx. 2.1 miles away); Eagle Tavern (approx. 2.2 miles away); Oconee County (approx. 2.2 miles away); Site of Frontier Blockhouse (approx. 2.2 miles away); The Stoneman Raid (approx. 2.2 miles away); Civilians Abducted During Stoneman’s Raid (approx. 2.2 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Watkinsville.

Also see . . .

Photographed By Darren Jefferson Clay, June 18, 2021

2. Jeannette Rankin’s Georgia Home Marker

Biography of Jeannette Rankin. Excerpt:

Only four days after taking office, Jeannette Rankin made history in yet another way: she voted against U.S. entry into World War I. She violated protocol by speaking during the roll call before casting her vote, announcing “I want to stand by my country, but I cannot vote for war.” Some of her colleagues in the National American Woman Suffrage Association—notably Carrie Chapman Catt—criticized her vote, saying Rankin was opening the suffrage cause to criticism and it was impractical and sentimental.

Rankin did vote later in her term for several pro-war measures, as well as working for political reforms including civil liberties, suffrage, birth control, equal pay, and child welfare. In 1917, she opened the congressional debate on the Susan B. Anthony Amendment, which passed the House in 1917 and the Senate in 1918. It became the 19th Amendment after it was ratified.

But Rankin’s first anti-war vote sealed her political fate. When she was gerrymandered out of her district, she ran for the Senate, lost the primary, launched a third-party race, and lost overwhelmingly.

(Submitted on December 5, 2008, by David Seibert of Sandy Springs, Georgia.)

Jeannette Rankin<br>member of the United States House of Representatives from Montana image. Click for full size.

2004 oil painting by Sharon Sprung, via Wikipedia Commons

3. Jeannette Rankin
member of the United States House of Representatives from Montana

This portrait is in the U.S. House of Representatives collection.

Credits. This page was last revised on June 22, 2021. It was originally submitted on December 2, 2008, by David Seibert of Sandy Springs, Georgia. This page has been viewed 2,687 times since then and 60 times this year. It was the Marker of the Week January 12, 2020. Photos: 1. submitted on December 2, 2008, by David Seibert of Sandy Springs, Georgia. 2. submitted on June 18, 2021, by Darren Jefferson Clay of Duluth, Georgia. 3. submitted on January 11, 2020, by J. J. Prats of Powell, Ohio. • Bill Pfingsten was the editor who published this page.