News Release

Eight ways to celebrate Women’s History Month in your nearby national parks

Date: February 28, 2023
Contact: Chelsea Sullivan, 202-619-7177

WASHINGTON—Join the National Park Service (NPS) this March for eight Women’s History Month events. National parks in the D.C. area invite the public to visit, celebrate and learn about the many stories of women’s history that happened right here in the nation’s capital!

Join free ranger-let talks, walks and tours to hear the stories of women who not only advanced women’s rights but also made a major impact on U.S. and world history.

Women’s History Month Programs:

Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park
All month long, Wednesday-Sunday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Women along the C&O Canal – Then and Now
The Great Falls Tavern Visitor Center classroom is open for self-directed, hands-on activities exploring the canal. Come explore the impact of women on the canal both historically and today — learn about the work and careers of boat captains, lock keepers and National Park Service staff! Discover the way the canal inspired women to create poetry, songs and artwork. Learn how women built canal communities, led service-orientated community organizations and more.

Belmont-Paul Women’s Equality National Monument
Every Sunday at 11 a.m. lasting 45-60 minutes, ending at Lafayette Park
Silent Sentinel Sunday
Join Ranger Lauren at Freedom Plaza in D.C. for Silent Sentinel Sunday to discover the brilliant and courageous tactics used in the fight for the women’s right to vote. This never-before-seen activism drew widespread attention to the cause and would pave the way for future civil rights demonstrations.

Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial
March 1 at 10 a.m., 2 p.m. and 4 p.m., lasting about 30 minutes
Claudette Colvin and the Montgomery Bus Boycott
Join NPS rangers to learn how one woman inspired a movement in Alabama. On this day in history, Claudette Colvin refused to give up her seat on a bus in Montgomery, Alabama, sparking the idea for the bus boycott of 1955. Learn the story of how this civil rights protest challenged segregation in Alabama. 

Mary McLeod Bethune Council House National Historic Site
March 4 at 12 p.m. Reservations can be made online.
Dovey Johnson Roundtree: A Crusader for Justice
Join author Katie McCabe for an exciting presentation on Dovey Johnson Roundtree, a pioneering World War II veteran, attorney, civil rights advocate and minister. 

Clara Barton National Historic Site
March 4 at 3 p.m. with an open house from 4 to 5 p.m.
“Clara Barton: Red Cross Angel” A Dramatic Production
Clara Barton was a humanitarian, teacher, Civil War nurse, organizer of supplies and the founder of the American Red Cross. Actress Mary Ann Jung offers an exciting and personal window into one of history’s most famous people in her one-woman, interactive performance. The program is appropriate for all ages. An open house event will follow the performance. Rangers and volunteers stationed throughout the first floor of the historic home will tell the fascinating story of Clara Barton’s life and times.

Mary McLeod Bethune Council House National Historic Site
March 11 at 1 p.m. Reservations can be made online.
Creating A Space on the Nation’s Preservation Agenda: Black Women and Historic Preservation.
Tara White, associate professor of history at the University of North Carolina Wilmington, will explore the work of Black women in preserving African American historic places, with emphasis on Black clubwomen’s preservation of Frederick Douglass’s Cedar Hill and Mary McLeod Bethune’s Council House in Washington, D.C.

Fort Washington Park
March 18 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tours at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m.
From Washerwomen to Women's Army Corps (WACs): Women's History at Fort Washington and the Nation
Join park staff for living history presentations and tours highlighting the role of women in the history of Fort Washington during the Civil War and World War II. Staff and volunteers will dress in historic clothing to share the stories of these women. Visitors will be able to try their hand at doing laundry Civil War-style and examine the suitcase of a member of the Women's Army Corps (WACs).

Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts
March 18 at 1 p.m., followed by a backstage tour of the Filene Center
Performance Arts, Partnership and Public Lands
Join rangers to learn about Catherine Filene Shouse, a philanthropist and lover of the arts who donated the land that would become Wolf Trap. Shouse purchased the land that became Wolf Trap Farm to create a refuge from the urban environment in Washington, D.C. She hosted many dignitaries and politicians on the farm before she went on donate the land to the Department of the Interior in 1966 along with the funds to build a state-of-the-art outdoor amphitheater. The program will be followed by a special backstage tour of the Filene Center, named after Shouse’s parents.