Alright, take a good look around this plaza-there’s more history here than meets the eye. You’re standing face-to-face with the Virginia Women’s Monument, officially known as “Voices from the Garden.” Not your average stone statue on a pedestal. This spot is a celebration of Virginia women who, for centuries, quietly-or sometimes not so quietly-helped shape both the state and the country, even if the limelight usually missed them.
Here, scattered across the granite, you’ll spot eleven life-sized bronze figures. Each one represents a woman whose story could fill a history book or, let’s be honest, a Netflix miniseries. Their backgrounds could hardly be more varied. You’ve got Cockacoeske, a 17th-century leader of the Pamunkey tribe, standing strong alongside Anne Burras Laydon, one of the first Englishwomen in Jamestown-who frankly survived more drama than most reality TV stars. There’s Mary Draper Ingles, a pioneer whose escape from captivity in the mid-1700s would give Bear Grylls a run for his money.
You’ll also find Elizabeth Keckley, who went from enslaved seamstress in Virginia to confidant of Mary Todd Lincoln in D.C. Laura Copenhaver stands here too, who championed farming cooperatives when “women in business” was mostly unheard of. And let’s not skip Adele Goodman Clark, a leader in women’s suffrage who could out-argue just about anyone on the Capitol steps.
Take a little stroll and you’ll see Virginia Randolph, an educator who raised schools out of the dirt for Black children in the South. Fast-forward to 2022 and they added more statues: Sarah Garland Boyd Jones, one of Virginia’s first female physicians; Maggie L. Walker, the first African-American woman to charter a bank; Clementina Rind, who published the news when everyone expected her to just read it; and, of course, Martha Washington, America’s very first First Lady.
But there’s more… Look to your left and right-the curved Wall of Honor features over 200 more names. These women didn’t get statues, but they left footprints all over the fields of science, art, politics, and social change. Their stories are still being uncovered, so the list keeps growing.
What’s fascinating is all of this started with a brainstorm in 2009, cooked up by Em Bowles Locker Alsop-a local writer and, fun fact, once in the running to play Scarlett O’Hara in “Gone with the Wind.” She lobbied, she persisted, and eventually, the Virginia General Assembly bought in-unanimously, no less. Talk about changing the record. And if you’re counting nickels, this was all built with private donations. No taxpayer wallet got a workout here.
So take a beat, listen to these “voices from the garden.” They’ve waited long enough to be heard.
When you’re set, John Marshall House is just a 5-minute walk north.
