Beacon Plans Dedication of Margaret Fuller Historic Marker

From the City of Beacon, New York:

Beacon, NY: On Saturday, May 21, 2016, the City of Beacon, New York will hold a ceremony to unveil an historic marker dedicated to women's rights activist, Margaret Fuller. This marker commemorates the historic visit of the noted American journalist and critic to then Fishkill Landing in the Fall of 1844. Fuller resided here for seven weeks while writing America's first feminist work, Woman in the Nineteenth Century. The book’s publication profoundly impacted the women’s rights movement, inspiring the 1848 Women’s Rights Convention in Seneca Falls, New York.

The ceremony will be held at the Beacon Visitors Center in Polhill Park at 11 am and will include a keynote by Margaret Fuller scholar, theologian and educator, Michael Barnett, along with remarks by other local leaders. Barnett earned his Master of Divinity Magna Cum Laude at Moravian Theological Seminary in Bethlehem, PA, and his Master of Education, Master Teacher Certification in Social Studies, at Gwynedd Mercy University.

The event also features the premier of a violin and voice composition commissioned for the commemoration by Beacon Arts, performed bysoprano Kelly Ellenwood and violinist Kathleen Bosman. The piece was composed by Beacon resident Debra Kaye, based on Fuller’s poemFreedom and Truth (1859). Beacon Open Studios Weekend commences directly after this event at 12 noon on May 21 and runs through May22.

The Beacon Historical Society also presents an exhibit on Fuller’s life at the Howland Public Library, 313 Main Street, Beacon, on view through the end of May. Margaret Fuller’s legacy is profound. According to Susan B. Anthony, Fuller “possessed more influence on the thought of American women than any woman previous to her time.” She was a transcendentalist poet and visionary, an intellectual scholar and writer, and a dedicated social activist. She used the power of her pen to advocate for women’s equality, abolition, prison reform, democracy, and human rights. Sadly, her life came to a tragic end in 1850 in a shipwreck off the coast of Fire Island.

The Margaret Fuller Marker will be part of the Women’s Rights and Suffrage History Trail, currently in development. The trail recognizes and promotes women’s heritage in New York State in celebration of the 100th Anniversary of Women’s Right to Vote that came to fruition in 2017.