This week Utah celebrates two extraordinary anniversaries! 150 years ago, on February 12, 1870, the bill extending voting rights to the women of the Territory of Utah became law. On February 14, 1870, Seraph Young of Utah, a school teacher on her way to work, stopped by Council Hall to cast her ballot and became the first woman in America to vote in the modern nation. For decades, women throughout the state inspired their sisters across the country to fight for the right to vote, to take part in government, to stand for freedom, and to “seize the scepter.”

Seize the Scepter, named from a lyric in the suffrage song “Women, Arise,” is an exhibit in our Special Collections at the Main Library. This exhibit is open through March 26 and draws from our collections of books, periodicals, and ephemera. Come visit and learn more about the amazing women in Utah history.

More info can be found here.