Three years may seem early to start planning the 100th anniversary of Oregon women obtaining full voting rights, which voters approved in 1912. But given that women's suffrage was on the ballot six times over 28 years -- four of them by initiative -- maybe an early start is a good thing. More than 50 people came to a meeting at the State Archives Building to start offering ideas for the centennial and ways to pay for them."

Last week was a big one for 2012: Oregon Woman Suffrage Centennial and the Northwest History Network .

The Oregon Heritage Commission granted our request for funds to develop a comprehensive educational and informational centennial website for 2012: Oregon Woman Suffrage Centennial. A project of the Northwest History Network, the website will provide interpretive essays written by scholars, primary documents, and archival links to women's historical collections. 

On November 2, Oregon Secretary of State Kate Brown and State Archivist Mary Beth Herkert hosted a  reception in Salem to launch the 2012 Oregon Woman Suffrage Centennial. Attended by over fifty elected officials, representatives of government agencies and women's organizations, along with members of the academic and archival community and other stakeholders, the event began a collaboration between the many voices and perspectives needed to tell Oregon's suffrage history and women's history. Secretary Brown noted, "This was a vote that changed the face of Oregon and it came with the support of some brave and colorful figures from our past. This is a golden page in Oregon history." Held at the State Archives, Herkert and the archive staff displayed the original proclamation, initiative petitions, and Abigail Scott Duniway voter registration cards Learn more at Secretary Brown's blog.