Women's Heritage Stories

It's time to celebrate fascinating American women—many of whom have not gotten the attention they deserve. Women such as Reverend Dr. Anna Pauline “Pauli” Murray, the brilliant legal mind who co-founded the National Organization of Women and became an Episcopal saint. Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney, the heiress who rebelled against her high-society upbringing to open a studio and encourage American artists. Jane Jacobs, the urban activist whose work presaged so many of our recent findings about the benefits of older buildings for cities. Madam C.J. Walker, a self-made millionaire who broke gender and racial barriers with her pioneering business models. Ann Pamela Cunningham, who brought Northern and Southern women together after the Civil War to save Mount Vernon, and who is effectively the American founder of the preservation movement. These are just a few of the remarkable women whose stories we at the National Trust strive to tell in recognition of women's role in American history. Explore their stories—and many more connected to women's history in the United States—through the stories and places below.

Preservation Magazine A Closer Look at an Intriguing Sculpture by Margaret French Cresson
Preservation Magazine At a Lush Florida Site, an Artist's Grand Vision Comes Together
Preservation Magazine The Capital's Gain: Inside the High-Profile Work of Architect Constance Lai
Explore Where Women Made History Anna Head School for Girls Influenced Generations of Women—and American Architecture
African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund The John and Alice Coltrane Home: A Source of Inspiration
Asian and Pacific Islander American History Genjiro Yeto, Constant Holley, and the Cos Cob Art Colony's Influence on the American Art Scene
Preservation Magazine Saving a Stylish, Sustainable Midcentury Modern House in Tucson, Arizona
Preservation Magazine Women's History, Here and Now: Inside the Lives of 3 Iconic Women
Explore Where Women Made History Rosita’s Bridge Connects San Antonio to its Mexican American Roots
Where Women Made History "Broken Glass": Dr. Edith Farnsworth, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, and the Modern Marvel They Created
African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund Fact or Fiction: Netflix’s “Self Made” and the Real Story of Madam C.J. Walker
African American History Maggie L. Walker’s Home Preserves African American Entrepreneurship

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