Carrie Chapman Catt Childhood Home

[Abby Brown] Have you ever felt that something was so unfair that you wanted to work as hard as you could to make it better? Well, that's exactly what one Iowa kid did. And she became famous because of it.

(Map marking Fayette County in northern Iowa.)

In 1920, the 19th amendment to the US Constitution was signed into law. It granted most American women the right to vote, also known as women's suffrage. Before that, voting was left mainly to men.

For over 70 years, many strong and smart women worked hard to make our country more fair. One of them was Carrie Chapman Catt.

Carrie spent her childhood here in Charles City in this house.

(A two story brick house with white accents and a stone foundation.)

It was here that she had a rude awakening to the big difference between men and women when it came to voting in elections.

When Carrie was 13, she was excited that it was Election Day. Americans were going to vote for a new United States president.

When she found out that only her father was able to go to town to vote that day, she was confused.

Why couldn't her mother vote too?

When she found out women weren't allowed to vote, that confusion quickly changed to determination. Carrie vowed right then and there that she would grow up and fight for a woman's right to vote.

The women's suffrage battle was difficult, and took place during a time when there were not only prejudices against women, but racial prejudices too.

After spending over 40 years of her adult life working hard for women's right to vote, Carrie Chapman Catt finally helped to make it happen.

But it all started here in this house, when a girl felt that something was terribly unfair and fought to fix it.

Carrie Chapman Catt's girlhood home is on the National Register of Historic Places. Today, you can visit and learn even more about all of the ways that she made history.

As you tour the interior and the exterior, it's inspiring to imagine the intelligent, brave girl who had a vision over 150 years ago for change and equality.

The people in every county in Iowa have had to fight for difficult change at one time or another.

Here in Floyd County, the battle that Iowan Carrie Chapman Catt fought for women's right to vote is showcased in her girlhood home.

Funding for FIND Iowa has been provided by The Coons Foundation, Pella and the Gilchrist Foundation.