Anna Howard Shaw (1847-1919)
Upper Providence Township, Delaware County, Pennsylvania
Marker Inscription
A doctor and theologian, Shaw was national lecturer for the National American Women's Suffrage Association and a colleague of Susan B. Anthony. As head of the Women's Committee of the US Council of National Defense she coordinated all women's defense activities during WWI and was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal for her efforts. She lived near here from 1908 until her death, just before ratification of the Women's Suffrage Amendment.
Erected by Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission
The Story
Anna Howard Shaw was one of the most powerful voices of the American woman-suffrage movement, a trained physician and ordained minister who traveled the country as a lecturer for the National American Woman Suffrage Association alongside Susan B. Anthony. During World War I she chaired the Women's Committee of the U.S. Council of National Defense, organizing women's contributions to the war effort and earning the Distinguished Service Medal. She made her home near this spot from 1908 until her death in 1919—just months before the ratification of the amendment she had fought so long to secure.
Why it matters
Shaw's career shows how the fight for the vote intertwined with women's public service to the nation, and she died on the very threshold of the victory she helped make possible.
Plan your visit
NearbyMake a day of it — museums, food, and places to stay near this marker.
Museums & culture
- Bridgette Mayer13.2 mi away · 709 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, PA
- Congress Hall13.4 mi away · Philadelphia, PA
- African American Museum in Philadelphia13.4 mi away · 701 Arch Street, Philadelphia, PA
- Independence Hall13.4 mi away · 520 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA
- Liberty Bell Center13.4 mi away · 526 Market Street, Philadelphia
- Hill-Physick House13.4 mi away · 321 South 4th Street
Attractions
- American Bandstand10.4 mi away
- Philadelphia Zoo11.6 mi away
- Commandant's Quarters11.7 mi away
- Pennsylvania Railroad, Connecting Railway Bridge11.7 mi away
- Discovery Center at East Park Reservoir12.0 mi away
- Rocky Steps12.2 mi away
Food & drink
- Talula's Garden13.2 mi away · 210 West Washington Square, Philadelphia, PA
- Talula's Daily13.2 mi away · 208 West Washington Square, Philadelphia, PA
- Fat Salmon13.2 mi away · 719 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, PA
- Munchie’s Cafe13.2 mi away · 728 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA
- Philly Pretzel Factory13.2 mi away
- Maya's Pizza & Grill13.2 mi away · 716 Sansom Street, Philadelphia, PA
Places to stay
- DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Philadelphia Center City12.7 mi away · 237 South Broad Street, Philadelphia, PA
- Cambria Hotel Philadelphia Downtown - Center City12.7 mi away · 219 South Broad Street, Philadelphia, PA
- Fairfield Inn & Suites12.7 mi away · 261 South 13th Street, Philadelphia, PA
- Holiday Inn Express12.8 mi away · 1305-11 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, PA
- Alexander Inn12.8 mi away · 301 301 South 12th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19107, Philadelphia, PA
- Residence Inn Philadelphia Center City12.8 mi away · 1 East Penn Square, Philadelphia, PA
Places data © OpenStreetMap contributors. Hours and details change — call ahead.
Own a business near here? Add it to the map.
Related people
- · Anna Howard Shaw
- · Susan B. Anthony
Related events
- · Women's Suffrage Amendment ratification
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
Mildred Scott Olmsted (1890-1990)
Rose Valley, PA · est. 2015
From her home in Rose Valley, Mildred Scott Olmsted spent more than four decades leading the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom, carrying its antiwar and human-rights message around the world. Her activism flowed from her Quaker faith and joined the causes of peace, women's rights, and civil rights. She and her husband welcomed figures such as Jane Addams, Bayard Rustin, and Martin Luther King into their household.
CAROLINE BURNHAM KILGORE 1838-1909
Springfield Township, PA · est. 2024
Caroline Burnham Kilgore refused to accept that the courtroom was closed to women, waging a sixteen-year campaign for the right to study law, sit for the bar, and argue before Pennsylvania's courts. She finally broke through to become the first woman admitted to practice law in the state's courts, and she held a medical degree besides. An active suffragist, she spent her later years near this Delaware County spot.
Dr. Anna E. Broomall (1847-1931)
Chester, PA · est. 2019
At the turn of the twentieth century, a woman practicing surgery was a rarity, and prenatal care as we know it barely existed. Dr. Anna E. Broomall, trained at the Woman's Medical College of Pennsylvania, opened what is recognized as the first prenatal care clinic in the United States at the Woman's Hospital in Philadelphia. Her advances in obstetric surgery helped lower the toll that childbirth then took on mothers and infants. She spent her career teaching the next generation of women physicians.
Eddystone Rifle Plant
Eddystone, PA · est. 2019
When the guns of the First World War fell on Europe in 1914, an arms plant rose on the Delaware River at Eddystone to turn out Enfield rifles for Britain. After the United States entered the war, the factory retooled to make the American Model 1917 — and became the single largest rifle producer in the nation, employing some 15,000 workers, a fifth of them women. Its lines fabricated more than a million rifles, nearly half of the country's entire wartime output.