January 7th, 2012 - March 4th, 2012

Look beyond the bonnets with the "Ladies of Lincoln's Era " traveling exhibition featuring highlights of twelve of the most influential women of the 1860s.  The West Baton Rouge Museum presents the biographies of these influential women with a selection of artifacts from Clara Barton, Mary Todd Lincoln and others to hearken back to this pivotal time in U.S. history.

These trend-setting, civic-minded, and even pistol-wielding women faced unprecedented challenges as abolitionists, spies, humanitarians, and agents of change. They embody independence, wit, charm, intelligence, and determination – elements required to brave an uncertain world. From the feminine wiles of "Wild" Rose Greenhow to the First Lady of California, Jessie Benton Fremont, these unconventional women are still being talked about 150 years later. Other women featured in the exhibition include Harriet Tubman, "conductor" on the Underground Railroad; Clara Barton, who established the American Red Cross; and Sojourner Truth, abolitionist and women's rights advocate.

"Ladies of Lincoln's Era" opens at the West Baton Rouge Museum on January 7 and will be on display through March 4, 2012. The exhibition is timed to coincide with Black History month, highlighting the important contributions most of these women made to improve civil rights for all Americans.

"Ladies of Lincoln's Era" was produced by Mission San Juan Capistrano and is toured by the California Exhibition Resources Alliance and was researched and installed by guest curator Kenyota Combs and West Baton Rouge Museum curator Lauren Davis.

The West Baton Rouge Museum is located on 845 N. Jefferson Avenue in Port Allen, just minutes from downtown Baton Rouge. For more information please call (225) 336-2422 x 15 or e-mail us:  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .