By Eliza Carr, public historian for the Utah Women’s History Initiative
After a four-year delay, a statue of Dr. Martha Hughes Cannon has taken its place in the National Statuary Hall Collection at the U.S. Capitol. Cannon’s statue becomes only the 14th representing a woman among the 100 statues honoring influential and history-making citizens from each state. After a minimum of 10 years, each state is allowed to change its statues. Utah’s choice to send Cannon as its representative joins a larger movement to commemorate more real women through public monuments. With only about seven percent representing real women, monuments featuring female figures in the United States are often fictional or allegorical. Remarkably, there are more monuments dedicated to mermaids (22) than to U.S. congresswomen (2)*.
The Utah Historical Society co-hosted a send-off celebration to start the statue’s journey to Washington, D.C. in June 2024. These remarks from the program summarize the importance of Cannon’s statue to the state of Utah: “As a pioneering trailblazer, Martha Hughes Cannon is a fitting representative for Utah. Her statue installation is a historic opportunity to celebrate her enduring legacy of leadership! Sending Martha to Washington to represent Utah sends a message about who and what we value. When girls and boys grow up knowing about Dr. Cannon’s ambition and achievements, they learn to see women as leaders in our past and present. We can all be inspired to stand up, speak out, and make a difference in our own communities. Martha’s story shows that Utah women lead.”
Creating a monument is no easy task—it requires years of effort and extensive coordination. To dive deeper into the journey of how Cannon’s monument came to life, explore the timeline below!
* https://monumentlab.com/audit?section=key-finding-2 (Please note: views and opinions expressed by partner organizations do not necessarily reflect those of the Utah Historical Society).