7 TRAVEL ITINERARIES TO EXPLORE NJ WOMEN'S HISTORY March 06, 2024
March is Women’s History Month. Women’s History Month is a celebration of women’s contributions to culture, history, and society. It has been observed annually in the United States since 1987. The stories of women’s lives and accomplishments are embedded in every aspect of New Jersey’s past. Beginning with New Jersey’s native inhabitants, women contributed to the state’s economy, politics, education, scientific advances, arts, culture, and religious life. These stories are found at the many remarkable historic sites and landscapes throughout the state.
Celebrate Women’s History Month by following along one (or all seven) travel itineraries that will take you to locations throughout the state that explore women’s roles in shaping the history of New Jersey and our nation.
1. THREE CENTURIES IN TWO DAYS
Travel three centuries in two days. Walk in the footsteps of women in a colonial encampment, learn about the Italian immigrants that hosted labor union activists during the Paterson Silk Strike of 1913, and explore what it was like to oversee the management and social obligations of a wealthy Victorian household.
2. MANY FACES OF MORRIS COUNTY AND BEYOND
Experience the many faces of Morris County and its surrounding areas. Visit the home of one of the first and most successful female landscape designers in the country, learn what it was like to host General George Washinton and the Continental army, and discover the contributions of women to Morristown’s culture.
Cruise the coast of New Jersey. As you head south, learn about women lighthouse keepers, the women enlisted in the Women’s Army Corp during WWII, and the critical roles played by women during the Vietnam War. At exit 0, have an immersive experience of domestic life during the 1800s.
4. WOMEN'S HISTORY ALONG NEW JERSEY'S SCENIC BYWAYS
Experience women’s history along New Jersey’s Scenic Byways. Discover historic preservation movements led by women, become immersed in the domestic and farming life of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, and tour the house and gardens of a noted eighteenth century poet.
Learn about the revolutionary women of Monmouth County. Tour the battlefield of one of the most critical battles in the Revolutionary War to learn about the women on the frontline brave enough to fiercely confront the British forces.
6. WOMEN OF SCIENCE AND VISION
Learn about New Jersey’s women of science and vision. Visit the home where the first cultivated blueberry was developed, stroll along the streets of one of the first utopian industrial villages, and tour the childhood home of noted suffragist and author of the Equal Rights Amendment.
Get to know the women of Camden County. Learn about some of the leaders in the abolitionist movement, the founder of Haddonfield, and the activities of the county’s suffragists.