INDIANAPOLIS — On Aug. 18, 1920, the 19th Amendment to the United States Constitution was ratified, giving most women the right to vote.
One of the most vocal leaders in that movement lived and worked in Indianapolis. Her name was May Wright Sewall.
She founded numerous community organizations for women during her time in The Circle City, including the Indianapolis Propylaeum.
Ali Brown serves as its current executive director.
"The Propylaeum, itself, is Greek," said Brown. "It means 'gateway.'"
May founded the the Propylaeum 134 years ago as a place for women to gather, create, lead and fight for change.
"She saw other organizations in other states and thought, 'We can organize here,'" said Brown. "They created a space where women could come together, and they could plan, and they could work towards leadership, in a time when women weren't supposed to do any of that kind of stuff."
Now, gifts given to May are sprinkled throughout the 100-year-old building on Delaware Street. The founding documents even live in the "suffrage room" upstairs.
The original building on North Street also offered the first doctor's office for Indianapolis women and a place for women to retire if they no longer had anyone to care for them, according to Brown.
"We have had some of the greatest Indianapolis names live in our home," said Brown, who added that Indiana was the first state in the country to form an organized group to fight for a woman's right to vote.
A photo of that group still hangs on a wall inside the Propylaeum.
"This is the last picture of the last meeting at the old Propylaeum," said Brown. "The women who are ready to fight for our rights, it's pretty amazing to actually get to see their faces."
Thursday marks the 102nd anniversary of the ratification of the 19th Amendment.
"We are only the granddaughters, some great-granddaughters," said Brown. "102 years isn't that far."
Brown said May passed away on July 22, 1920, less than a month before the ratification.
"She would be proud of what was accomplished," Brown said, "but she would not be satisfied. It feels like how far we've come, but how far we have yet to go, and how fragile our rights still are."
In present day, women still use the Propylaeum to gather and advocate for change, honoring the decades of women who came before them.
"They were some of the most important women to grace Indiana," said Brown, "at a time when Indiana was just finding itself."
As the new executive director, Brown hopes to be more intentional and inclusive with upcoming programming and community offerings, which includes free concerts and a soon-to-be young professionals' group.
"May believed in the power of women coming together to get something done," said Brown, "and she saw that and she believed we could do that here."
The Propylaeum offers self-guided tours through the mansion, carriage house, and grounds during the week from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Visitors are asked to call ahead at 317-638-7881.