Page House Trail Marker To Honor Danvers Resident's Legacy

Danvers MA

25 May, 2022

2:08 PM

Description

DANVERS, MA —The contributions of Danvers native Anne Page to women's rights, girls' education and the women's suffrage movement in America will be honored with a ceremony to unveil a historic trail marker at the Page House in Danvers Square on Thursday. The Danvers Historical Society and Suffrage100MA are hosting the event at 5:30 p.m. at the house at 11 Danvers Street to honor the founder of the Danvers Women's Association. The trail marker is the first of five new Massachusetts suffrage markers set for the National Votes for Women Trail. "We're excited to celebrate the extraordinary legacy of Anne L. Page with this marker, right outside the home where she lived her entire life," Danvers Historical Society Development Coordinator Laura Cilley said. "This site will also help educate the Danvers community and visitors about the vital role she served to promote women's suffrage and childhood education in this country." Page lived in the same house, named after Revolutionary War hero Jeremiah Page, where she was born in 1828 until her death in 1913. She established one of the first kindergarten schools in the country in the home around 1850 and founded the American Froebel Union in 1877, along with Elizabeth Peabody and Mary Mann, to advance early childhood education. She founded the Page Normal School in 1885 to help educate women to teach kindergarten. "It is our privilege and duty to honor Anne L. Page and the remarkable history of women's suffrage in Danvers," State Sen. Joan Lovely (D-Salem) said. "Let us remember the hard-fought battle towards equal voting access and the importance of protecting voting rights for all our country's citizens." State Rep. Sally Kerans (D-Danvers) is among the confirmed speakers at Thursday's ceremony. "By dedicating her life to lifting up others, quite literally in her own home here in Danvers, Massachusetts, Anne L. Page helped secure new opportunities and freedoms for future generations," Kerans said. "Her marker is taking its rightful place as part of the National Votes for Women Trail." (Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at [email protected]. Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)