Outside the Oxford Community Arts Center stands the status of the 23rd First Lady of the United States, the co-founder of the Daughters of the American Revolution, and its first President, Caroline Scott Harrison. Oxford Community Arts Center is a historic building that was the home of the Oxford Female Institute since 1849 and the Oxford College for Women in 1906. Caroline’s father, Reverend John Witherspoon Scott, managed and taught at the school, and Caroline herself graduated in 1852. Miami University bought and renovated the building in 1928, and the DAR funded the ballroom’s construction in her honor. In 1998, when Miami University closed the building, Oxford citizens worked to restore it and repurpose it as an art center; three years later, the Oxford Community Arts Center was incorporated. In 2013, the Caroline Scott Memorial Committee was established, aiming to educate the public about her life and legacy. The committee commissioned Jarrett Hawkins to create this statue, depicting Caroline when she attended the Oxford Female Institute. 186 years after Caroline was born in Oxford, on October 14th, 2018, Oxford Mayor Kate Rousmaniere unveiled her statue at the Oxford Community Arts Center garden. Caroline Lavinia Scott Harrison was born into a family of educators and abolitionists in 1832 in Oxford, Ohio. She was well-educated and taught art, music, and literature. In 1853, she married Benjamin Harrison; they had three children. When her husband was sworn into office in 1889, Caroline became the 23rd first lady. As first lady, she took little interest in hosting duties; instead she dedicated much of her time to charity work and supporting women’s rights causes, such as co-founding the Daughters of the American Revolution. However, her most significant undertaking was overseeing major renovations of the White House, including the addition of electricity, modernized utilities, refurbished rooms, and the beginning of preserving the house’s historical furnishings and possessions. As a result of tuberculosis, her health declined, and she passed away in 1892. Read more...