Voices that Shaped the Nation: Celebrating Women’s History Across the Mid-Atlantic

Each March, destinations across the Mid-Atlantic from Maryland’s Chesapeake Bay and Pennsylvania’s storied river towns to Virginia’s Blue Ridge and coastal shores shine a light on the women whose vision, resilience, creativity, and leadership helped shape our nation. Throughout the region, museums, historic homes, public art, and cultural landmarks invite visitors to explore stories of abolitionists and activists, artists and educators, scientists and entrepreneurs whose influence spans centuries. Together, these powerful narratives reflect the depth and diversity of women’s contributions and offer meaningful opportunities to experience history where it happened.

Maryland: Art, Freedom, and the Power of the Press

In Annapolis and Anne Arundel County, the Banneker Douglass Tubman Museum stands as a beacon of African American heritage and cultural memory. This February, the museum debuts She Speaks: Black Women Artists and the Power of Historical Memory, a landmark exhibition featuring contemporary Maryland-based and internationally recognized artists. Spanning 250 years of American history through a Black feminist lens, the exhibition explores how Black women preserve, reinterpret, and propel cultural memory. Running through January 2027, it offers bold, resonant works that honor generations of creative leadership while envisioning Afrofuturist futures.

The museum itself carries a powerful legacy. Originally named for Benjamin Banneker and Frederick Douglass, it expanded its name in 2024 to honor Harriet Tubman recognizing her extraordinary contributions as an abolitionist, Underground Railroad conductor, and human rights advocate with deep Maryland roots. Today, it serves as a statewide center for African American heritage, elevating the voices of women whose leadership changed the course of history.

Also in Annapolis, the legacy of Anne Catherine Green reminds us that women have long shaped public discourse. After her husband’s death in the 18th century, Green became one of colonial America’s earliest female printers. From the historic Jonas Green House, she published the Maryland Gazette, government proceedings, and even currency authorized by the General Assembly—helping define press freedom and democratic dialogue in a pivotal era. While the home is privately owned, the Museum of Historic Annapolis preserves and interprets her remarkable story.

Pennsylvania: A Colonial Visionary

In Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, visitors can step back to 1738 at Wright’s Ferry Mansion, home of Susanna Wright. A woman of intellect and influence, Wright was a dynamic force in colonial America. She encouraged regional industry, shared legal and medical knowledge, and stimulated literary debate in the growing rivertown of Columbia.

The mansion (open May through October) houses an exceptional collection of period furniture, ceramics, needlework, metals, and glass, reflecting Wright’s refined tastes and broad interests. Her life stands as a testament to women’s leadership in shaping early American self-sufficiency and intellectual life.

Virginia’s Blue Ridge: Honoring Henrietta Lacks

In Roanoke, Virginia, a life-sized sculpture honors Henrietta Lacks, whose unwitting contribution to medical science changed the world. Unveiled on October 4, 2023, Virginia’s Henrietta Lacks Day, the statue stands proudly in the newly renamed Lacks Plaza in downtown Roanoke.

Lacks’ HeLa cells became one of the most important tools in modern medicine, contributing to decades of life-saving research. Designed by local artist Bryce Cobbs, the sculpture provides a space for reflection, recognition, and respect for a woman whose legacy continues to advance science globally.

Culpeper, Virginia: Courage on the Front Lines

In the heart of Virginia’s Piedmont, Culpeper highlights women whose bravery and compassion reshaped their communities during times of profound challenge. Among them is Cornelia Hancock, a Civil War nurse whose dedication on the battlefield earned her lasting recognition. At just 23 years old, Hancock volunteered to serve wounded soldiers and worked near the front lines at Brandy Station, the Wilderness, and Petersburg—becoming one of the few women to live and work so close to active combat.

Her letters home, later published as South After Gettysburg, provide a vivid account of wartime medical care and the human cost of conflict. Beyond the war, Hancock co-founded charitable and educational organizations, continuing a lifelong commitment to service. Today, visitors can explore her story along the Civil War Trails in Brandy Station, where interpretive signage honors her role in expanding the narrative of women’s contributions during the war.

Culpeper also celebrates the broader impact of women in shaping its civic, cultural, and business communities. Through local storytelling initiatives and museum programs, the town recognizes influential educators, artists, entrepreneurs, and leaders whose efforts helped define Culpeper’s identity ensuring that both well-known and lesser-told stories continue to inspire future generations.

Richmond Region: Trailblazers in Freedom and Equality

The Richmond Region tells the stories of remarkable women whose influence spans centuries.

In Jackson Ward, the Maggie L. Walker National Historic Site honors the first Black woman in the United States to charter and lead a bank. Walker was not only a financial pioneer but also a national leader in civil rights and economic empowerment.

In Chesterfield, the historic Half Way House highlights the bravery of Susanna Bolling, a teenage intelligence courier during the Revolutionary War. Nearby New Kent County was home to Martha Washington during her formative years before becoming America’s inaugural First Lady.

Downtown Richmond’s monument Voices in the Garden pays tribute to Virginia women whose fight for equality from suffrage to civil rights continues to resonate across generations. Together, these sites illuminate how women, often facing extraordinary odds, altered the trajectory of American history.

Hampton, Virginia: Resilience, Innovation, and Legacy

Few places capture the depth and breadth of women’s contributions like Hampton, Virginia.

At the Fort Monroe Visitor & Education Center, visitors encounter Isabela a powerful sculpture representing African matriarchs. The figure stands at the heart of the exhibit on the 1619 arrival of the first enslaved Africans in English-speaking North America. Dedicated to Angela, Isabella, and the countless African women who carried cultural traditions across centuries of hardship, the installation honors resilience, leadership, and the preservation of heritage.

Nearby, the Virginia Air & Space Science Center celebrates the groundbreaking women of NASA’s “Hidden Figures.” Historic markers honor Katherine Johnson, Mary Jackson, and Dorothy Vaughan three extraordinary African American mathematicians whose calculations helped send astronauts into space. Inside, the Dr. Christine Darden Literary Center inspires young visitors through books and exhibits that spotlight Darden’s pioneering research in supersonic flight and her leadership as the first African American woman at NASA Langley to reach the Senior Executive Service rank.

At Hampton University, the Hampton University Museum displays works by influential women artists like Elizabeth Catlett, whose sculptures and graphic art vividly depict the Black American experience. The Countee and Ida Cullen Collection offers further artistic treasures, while Legacy Park honors icons including Rosa Parks, Mary Jackson, Dr. Susan LaFlesche the first female Native American physician and educator Mary Peake, who taught freed African Americans beneath the historic Emancipation Oak.

The Hampton History Museum further explores the city’s trailblazing women, from preservationists who safeguarded local history to the “Human Computers” whose brilliance shaped the nation’s space program.

A Collective Invitation

Across the Mid-Atlantic, these destinations invite travelers to step into stories of bravery, creativity, intellect, and perseverance. Whether standing before a sculpture in Roanoke, walking the halls of a historic mansion in Lancaster County, reflecting at Fort Monroe, exploring powerful exhibitions in Annapolis, uncovering local legacies in Culpeper, or discovering civil rights landmarks in Richmond, visitors will encounter women whose voices shaped the nation and continue to inspire its future.

This Women’s History Month, MATPRA members proudly celebrate the leaders, innovators, artists, and activists whose legacies remind us that history is not only something we inherit it is something we actively preserve, reinterpret, and propel forward.

Plan your journey, explore these remarkable sites, and experience the stories of women who helped define America.