A list of what to do in downtown Knoxville will get an intriguing new addition as the Suffrage Coalition announced that it has raised $2,000,000 to purchase 706 Gay Street, closing on the property at full price last week. In a press conference this morning, the group announced the purchase, which will house a new suffrage museum. The group also has a contract to purchase the adjacent property at 708 South Gay Street from Hatcher-Hill, bringing the total space for the museum to 20,000 square feet.
The fundraising effort for that purchase got a significant boost with a $500,000 donation from Hatcher-Hill Development Company, LLC.The donation kicks off a $2.9 million dollar campaign to purchase and restore the additional property. The group said, “Upon completion, it will stand as the largest institution in the nation dedicated solely to telling a much more complete story of the women’s suffrage movement.”
Wanda Sobieski, Founder and President of the Suffrage Coalition said:
This extraordinary gift will help us locate and preserve much more of the many shades of the suffrage story. Because of Hatcher-Hill’s generosity, the Women’s Suffrage Museum will have the space it needs to tell this story fully and beautifully. Tim Hill’s belief in our mission is a gift to the entire community.
The press conference featured symbolism and drama worthy of such a grand undertaking: A flag bearing 36 stars (which flew in the U.S. in the mid-1860s) was displayed in honor of Tennessee becoming the 36th (and decisive) state to ratify the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution on August 18, 1920.
Wanda Sobieski, head of the organization and dressed in authentic suffrage attire, arrived in an era-appropriate 1929 Ford Model A Tudor, owned by Stephen Wickizer. The space was decked out with yellow carpet and yellow roses, the emblem of the movement. As if the drama wasn’t enough, a 23-by-35-foot architectural rendering of the planned museum was unveiled, cascading from the top of the 706 South Gay Street building as the expanded vision was revealed.
Sobieski, long known as a local champion of remembering Suffrage and east Tennessee’s role in its passage, said:
Today marks the culmination of more than 30 years of passion, perseverance, and purpose. The Women’s Suffrage Museum will be a tangible, enduring tribute, a place where the legacy of the courageous women who fought for the right to vote is preserved, interpreted, and taught for generations to come.
Mayor Kincannon and former Mayor Madelyn Rogero attended the event. Rogero, who has long been a supporter of the organization and their efforts, praised Hill for his leadership and dedication to preserving Knoxville’s history. She said:
From the earliest days of this project, I have believed deeply in the importance of telling this story right here in Knoxville, where the spirit of progress has always run strong. This gift represents the best of who we are as a community, people who honor our past while investing in our shared future.
Mayor Indya Kincannon presented an official City of Knoxville proclamation recognizing the museum’s cultural and historical significance, saying,
Located right here in Tennessee, the Women’s Suffrage Museum will celebrate the brave women who secured the right to vote. Knoxville is proud to be the home of this national treasure, a place where history and innovation meet to inspire the future.
Kincannon noted that congress voted forty-two consecutive years, starting in 1878, on whether to present a path for women’s suffrage. All votes were negative until 1919.
This isn’t, of course, the first local recognition of the state’s role in securing the vote for women. Two downtown statues memorialize the heroines of the moment, one on Market Square featuring women who led the movement and one at the corner of Clinch and Market honoring the mother and son behind the final vote to be secured ensuring passage.
And why does it matter? Many things define a city. The stories we tell project our identity to the world. Who and what the city honors forms a major statement about its values. While most places, including Knoxville, bear a complicated history, all of which should be recognized, what is chosen for honor from that history declares how the place wishes to be viewed.
But we all agree on this story, right? As it turns out, not all of us. Just before the ceremony, I was approached by a man who led with, “Women’s suffrage has been an unmitigated disaster.” I asked and he confirmed that he believes women should not vote. Women, he said, “have too much compassion and sometimes hard decisions have to be made and they can’t make them.” He said the decline of this country has its roots at least partially in the right of women to vote. In 2025. On Gay Street. A middle-aged man. Stories will be told, but there are still competing narratives.
In 2017, the Suffrage Coalition determined there should be a statue recognizing Febb and Harry Burn. If you don’t know their story, read it here. I took Urban Girl and Urban Boy to see the placement of the statue, promising they would see a “flying statue.” As we stood watching it, a couple from New York City asked (half-jokingly?) if it was another Confederate statue for Knoxville. I explained that (outside of one statue in the Confederate Cemetery), we didn’t have any of those.
What we do have, I told them, are statues commemorating a black writer, a doctor, two honoring indigenous people, a Russian pianist, and another that likely references a character from an amazing work of fiction. I also informed them that this was our second statue related to suffrage and that (at that time) New York City failed to acknowledge that shift in American history with any meaningful statuary. By those who we honor we will be known. It made me proud of our city.
The Burns statue was unveiled to great ceremony in June of 2018. Now we extend that legacy. Rebecca “Becca” Ensminger McCombs, a descendant of Febb Ensminger Burn, attended announcement this morning and “Something I love about this museum is that it will hold many stories, some famous, some quiet. It will be a place that tells our sons and daughters, ‘Your voice matters. Use it well and also listen.’”
Tim Hill in presenting the check to the organization, said, “Knoxville’s story is America’s story, rich with people who had the courage to make an impact. The suffragists gave us one of the most powerful examples of that courage. Supporting this museum is a way to honor them, and to preserve another piece of Knoxville’s historic downtown for future generations.”
Mary Kellogg-Joslyn, who has been named Executive Producer and Director of Museum Development for the Women’s Suffrage Museum, added, “Today’s announcement and Tim Hill’s generosity take our dream to a new level. But this is just the beginning. We invite all who believe in the power of women’s stories and in preserving history to join us. Through donor support, we will bring this museum to life for generations to come.” She and her husband founded the Titanic Museum in Pigeon Forge, which they sold last year before she was convinced to take this job as Museum Director.
With a major step having been taken, the next challenge is to raise the remaining $2.4 million. If you would like to support this effort, you can contribute here (and learn more about the project). The genesis of the collection included in the museum will be more than 1,000 artifacts collected over decades by Wanda Sobieski. When open, it will become the largest institution in the United States devoted exclusively to the women’s suffrage movement and will include immersive galleries and educational programming in addition to the Sobieski collection, many of which will be seen by the public for the first time.
Plans call for the museum to open in 2028.