The 1872 Monument

A monument commemorating Susan B. Anthony’s famous arrest for voting for the 1872 presidential election, in times when women were not allowed to vote. On election day, November 5th, 1872, Anthony and a group of 14 women marched to the barbershop on West Main St., Rochester, where the polling was held. Determined to fulfill their fundamental civil right, Anthony and her fellow suffrage activists ignored the reluctant men at the polling place and voted. After two weeks, they were arrested, tried, convicted, and sentenced to pay a fine for their action. Anthony refused to pay the fine, and she never did.
 
The statue, a bronze locked ballot box, was created by Pepsy Kettavong and dedicated on August 22nd, 2009 – the 89th anniversary of the Nineteenth Amendment, which gave the women the right to vote. The two pillars on its sides represent the front of the barbershop, where the voting was taking place. In front of the statue, there is a plaque describing the historic event. Pepsy Kettavong is a Rochester area sculptor who also created the Rochester statue, “Let’s Have Tea” of Susan B Anthony and Frederick Douglass.