Monument to Women Memorial Garden facts for kids
The Monument to Women Memorial Garden is a special garden in Nauvoo, Illinois. It has many statues and is owned by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. This two-acre garden features twelve statues that show different traditional roles of women. It was built in the 1970s to replace an older monument. The garden was designed to celebrate the values of women that the Church felt were very important. Dennis Smith and Florence Hansen created the bronze statues. Church president Spencer W. Kimball officially opened the monument on June 30, 1978.
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History of the Monument
The First Monument (1933)
During the Great Depression, a leader named George Albert Smith and the president of the Relief Society (a women's group in the Church), Louise Robison, wanted to create a monument for the Relief Society in Nauvoo. They got permission to place it on land owned by the Community of Christ. This first monument was dedicated on July 26, 1933. It was later moved to the Nauvoo Temple site in 1952. Then, in 1988, it was moved again to where the Monument to Women Memorial Garden is today.
A New Idea for a Monument
In the 1970s, leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints wanted to highlight the importance of traditional family values. In 1973, Belle S. Spafford, who was then the General Relief Society President, suggested to church president Spencer W. Kimball that the old Relief Society monument needed to be replaced.
In 1974, President Kimball asked Barbara B. Smith, the next Relief Society president, if she would like to work on a new monument. Smith believed this new monument could help celebrate the traditional values of women. She had an artist named Florence Hansen make a small clay model of a pioneer woman with a child.
Choosing the Artists
Barbara B. Smith wasn't fully happy with the first model. So, in November 1975, several artists showed their ideas to a special committee. The sculptor Dennis Smith suggested creating a two-acre garden with twelve statues. These statues would show different parts of a woman's life.
The committee liked this idea. They decided that Dennis Smith would create eleven statues, and Florence Hansen would create the statue of the pioneer woman and child. Both artists signed contracts in February 1976. The Relief Society announced that the new monument would remind everyone that "the woman in the contemporary world is not far removed from the woman of an earlier era."
Building the Garden
The monument was first planned to be finished by March 1977. However, this date was moved back to allow more time for fundraising and for the sculptors to finish their work. Dennis Smith and Florence Hansen worked on their statues in Smith's home studio in Alpine, Utah.
Florence Hansen was also asked to create another statue, one showing Joseph Smith and his wife Emma Smith. The statues began to take shape in early 1978. The sculptors thought about where each statue would be placed and chose Bible verses that fit their artwork.
At first, the Relief Society found it hard to raise enough money for the monument. Some of the money came from a special wheat fund the Relief Society had from World War I. President Kimball also encouraged women to donate during his travels. By March 1978, all the money needed was collected. A two-acre site behind the Church's Nauvoo visitors' center was chosen for the garden. Volunteers helped prepare the site, and Durell Nelson designed the park.
Monument Dedication
A Special Play
In March 1978, a musical play called Because of Elizabeth began production. This outdoor musical would be performed when the monument was dedicated. About 240 members of the Church from the Champaign Illinois area were part of the cast and crew. The play was set in Nauvoo in the 1840s. It showed how traditional women's roles could help solve society's problems.
The music for the play was recorded in London, and the chorus was recorded in California.
Dedicatory Services
The dedication ceremonies began on June 27, 1978. This date was also the anniversary of the death of Joseph Smith and his brother, Hyrum Smith. Nearly 7,200 Latter-day Saint women gathered for the events. News reporters were there to cover the services and interview the artists and church leaders.
The services started with a special dinner for invited guests. President Kimball and President Smith spoke at this dinner. After dinner, guests toured the garden and watched the play Because of Elizabeth.
Spencer W. Kimball officially dedicated the monument during ceremonies held from June 28 to 30. On the first day, about 2,500 women attended the services in a large tent. President Kimball spoke to them and offered a special prayer. Bethine C. Church read a letter from United States First Lady Rosalynn Carter.
On the second day, Church leaders like Bruce R. McConkie and Ezra Taft Benson spoke. They encouraged women to be strong wives and mothers. Other speakers praised the monument and its sculptors. Many important people attended, including the wife of the Utah governor and a representative from the Illinois governor. They shared greetings and declared June 28, 1978, as National Monument to Women Day in Illinois.
What the Monument Shows
The Monument to Women is titled "Circles of a Woman's Life." Near the entrance, you can see the original Relief Society monument from 1933. Just inside the garden is the statue of Joseph and Emma Smith.
Most of the statues in the garden are life-sized. However, the main statue, called Woman, is larger than the others. Four statues surround Woman. They show a woman reading, a woman praying, a woman sculpting, and a woman helping others.
Another group of statues shows a woman's influence in the family. These include Courtship for Eternity, Joyful Moment, In the Family Circle, In Her Mother's Footsteps, Preparing Her Son, and Teaching with Love.
The very last statue is called Fulfillment. It is placed a little higher than the others. It shows an older woman finishing a special double wedding ring quilt.
In 2015, a historian named Susan Easton Black noted that the monument's brick paths were cracked. She also mentioned that the landscaping had grown so much that the statues were hard to see from the visitors' center parking lot.
Images for kids
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This piece of the Monument to Women is a bronze statue titled Woman and Her Talents, by Dennis Smith.
