Downtown Austin in Travis County, Texas — The American South (West South Central)
The Woman Suffrage Movement in Texas
Legal efforts to enfranchise women in Texas can be traced to 1868, when Rep. T.H. Mundine of Burleson introduced a Woman Suffrage Bill in the State Legislature. In the following five decades Texas women formed suffrage organizations to lobby for the right to vote. The suffragists included Rebecca Henry Hayes, who organized the Texas Equal Right Association (TERA) in 1893; and sisters Annette, Elizabeth, and Katherine Finnigan, who founded the Texas Woman Suffrage Association (TWSA) in 1903. The TWSA, renamed the Texas Equal Suffrage Association (TESA) in 1916, led the final push for voting rights. The movement’s leaders during this period included Jane Y. McCallum, Minnie Fisher Cunningham, Eleanor Brackenridge, and Annie Webb Blanton.
In March 1918 Rep. C.B. Metcalfe of San Antonio sponsored successful legislation giving women the right to vote in primary elections. It was signed into law by Gov. William P. Hobby just 17 days before the voter registration deadline for that year’s election. In that short period of time, more than 386,000 Texas women registered to vote, including many who gathered at the Travis County Courthouse at this site. On June 28, 1919, Texas became the 9th state to ratify the Woman Suffrage (19th) Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
Erected 1991 by Texas Historical Commission. (Marker Number 15026.)
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Civil Rights • Women. A significant historical month for this entry is March 1918.
Location. 30° 16.347′ N, 97° 44.462′ W. Marker is in Austin, Texas, in Travis County. It is in Downtown Austin. Marker is at the intersection of Congress Avenue and W 11th Street, on the right when traveling north on Congress Avenue. The marker is on the SE corner of Congress Avenue and W 11th Street. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Austin TX 78701, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. Governor Andrew Jackson Hamilton (a few steps from this marker); Governor James Edward Ferguson August 31, 1871 -September 21, 1944 (within shouting distance of this marker); Site of Second Travis County Courthouse and Walton Building (within shouting distance of this marker); African Americans in the Texas Revolution (within shouting distance of this marker); Site of Temporary Texas State Capitol of 1880’s (within shouting distance of this marker); First Classes of the University of Texas Law School (within shouting distance of this marker); Texas State Capitol (within shouting distance of this marker); Governor Edmund Jackson Davis (within shouting distance of this marker). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Austin.
Credits. This page was last revised on February 1, 2023. It was originally submitted on December 20, 2009, by Keith Peterson of Cedar Park, Texas. This page has been viewed 1,411 times since then and 35 times this year. Photos: 1. submitted on December 20, 2009, by Keith Peterson of Cedar Park, Texas. 2. submitted on August 24, 2014, by Michael Heinich of Austin, Texas. • Bill Pfingsten was the editor who published this page.