Capitol Women: Pioneering Women At Work Under the Dome

Librarians, Clerks, Janitresses, and Lawmakers: 1879-1940

Tradition states that Capitols has long been male dominated spaces where women played decidedly secondary roles. Yet in 1879, when the present Capitol opened, Harriet Tenney, Michigan’s first female state librarian, held control over almost an entire wing of the building. The first professional woman to hold a top tier gubernatorial appointment in the peninsular state, Tenney was aware of her significance. In her first report to the governor she wrote that “By the advice of the Chief Executive of the State and with the unanimous consent and approbation of the Senate, on the 31st day of March, 1869, this Library was placed in charge of a WOMAN.”

Learn about trailblazing women and the rules—written and unspoken—that both limited and inspired their successes with Capitol Historian & Curator Valerie Marvin.

Bio of Presenter:

Valerie Marvin is honored to serve as the Historian and Curator of the Michigan State Capitol. A graduate of the University of Michigan (Bachelor of Arts in Russian Studies, 2005) and Eastern Michigan University (Masters of Science in Historic Preservation, 2009), Valerie lives with her husband David in a 1906 home in downtown Lansing.