By Marty Meserve

The Falls Church Women’s History Group strives to bring awareness to our community of the contributions of women since the founding of Falls Church.  Honorees are representatives of ALL the women who continue to make life better, one day at a time, for those they love and for society at large.  These women are inspirations for girls who see in their examples the many possibilities for service available to them.  Our women’s struggles and accomplishments need to be remembered.

A few examples from our list of honorees illuminates what inspires us.  Harriet Foote Turner was a woman of color who worked at the Fitzhugh plantation where her job was to pick up newly arrived enslaved people from the Alexandria slave market.  In 1851, instead of delivering twelve people to the plantation, she led them on a perilous journey to freedom in Canada.

Laura Connors Hull had a dream.  Guided by the belief that creativity is a fundamental need of the human spirit, she founded Creative Cauldron, first in parks across the region, then to borrowed temporary spaces in Falls Church, until a home was secured in 2009 in Pearson Square.  She has provided enrichment to people of all ages, incomes, backgrounds, and abilities. Successes led to the culmination of her dream with the opening of a new home on Broad Street in February.  

Annette Mills was an environmental activist before sustainability became a household word.  She was the inspiration behind and founder of curbside recycling, Operation Earthwatch, and the VPIS Neighborhood Tree Program. Annette also launched the ongoing Spring and Fall Citywide cleanups and the ongoing leaf mulch program.  In 1995, As an active member of the League of Women Voters she chaired a study and was the primary author of a booklet titled “Sustainable Development in the City of Falls Church.” Annette’s efforts for reducing the waste stream in Falls Church won national recognition from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.  

It may seem a bit absurd that women are still struggling for equality in 2025.  Indeed, the current purge of women from leadership positions in the federal government is another step backwards, and a warning sign that things may get worse.

Unfortunately, women’s’ history has been obscured.  It wasn’t until 1980 that President Jimmy Carter tried to shine a light on the contributions of American women with a proclamation creating National Women’s’ History Week.  It took another seven years for Congress to pass a law declaring March as Women’s’ History Month.  

Why was it necessary to fight for women’s rights?  It was necessary because women were treated as second class citizens who couldn’t even vote until 1920.  It was necessary because doors were closed to women’s entry and advancement in the workplace.  It was necessary because sexual harassment and sexual abuse went unpunished.  It was necessary because the contributions that women have made since the founding of America were left out of the history books.

Although progress has been made, women are still struggling against efforts to marginalize, disrespect, and disregard them.  Some gains have been lost. Women are still underrepresented in the board room and in corporate America, sexual harassment continues, discrimination by the military has been reestablished, and most seriously, women have lost the right to determine their own medical care decisions. A return to a white male autocracy threatens to erode women’s rights even further.

Falls Church has more than its share of notable women in government, civil rights, education, business, social services, the creative arts, and more.  Please take a look at our web page FallsChurchWomensHistoryWalk to learn more about the women of tomorrow and today who have made our community a better place. And don’t give up the fight!