carrie lane chapman catt girlhood home and museum

The Interpretive Center has a 55-inch electronic touch table that tells the story of Carrie growing up on a pioneer farm AND tells about her attending Charles City schools, Iowa Agricultural College (now ISU), teaching in a one-room school, and her career as an educator in Mason City (teacher, principal, superintendent).Activities for children include pioneer dress-up clothes, interactive displays, and making apple cider!

Nicely curated exhibits inside on Carrie Lane Chapman Catt, an important leader in getting women the right to vote in the U.S., and the founder of the League of Women Voters. She's not as well known today as, say, Susan B. Anthony, but she worked closely with Anthony, who was almost 40 years older--it took literally generations of struggle to get this thing done. Well worth a visit if you're interested in the history of women's rights. Interesting to read about the strategy and compromises they had to work out.