Trending
As I stood in the small office inside the 178-year-old former home of Harriet Taylor Upton last week, I had actual goosebumps -- and not just figuratively.
It wasn't the home's beautiful Victorian design, the enormously high ceiling, nor its elegant, yet sparce, furniture that left me bereft of speech.
Rather, it was the pure reverence and simple realization that some 115 years ago the space where I stood was home to the National American Woman Suffrage Association. It was here that began the movement to achieve the right for all U.S. women -- myself included -- to vote.
Now, I realize it's well known that under the direction of Warren's Harriet Taylor Upton, the crusade grew to a well-integrated organization, culminating with the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution in 1920. But this month, Women's History Month, I thought it was only fitting that I pay a visit to the Upton House to reflect on the impact that home and its occupant had on women.
I was invited by Upton Association President Ken Conklin to visit, and as Ken toured me throughout rooms adorned with Victorian stenciling, period furniture and beautiful wooden floors, I learned not only about Upton, but also more about her connection to Tribune Chronicle then-owner Zell Hart Deming than I ever before realized.
Deming, an amazing woman in her own right, had risen from society reporter at our newspaper, where the recent widow with an infant daughter had come seeking employment in the late 1800s or early 1900s. She began working her way up, purchasing newspaper stock until she claimed majority ownership and named herself publisher.
It was under Deming's tutelage that the newspaper was transformed from a four-page daily to one of the few newspapers in the country circulated to every household in the city. She was responsible for moving the newspaper offices from High Street NW to its current location at 240 Franklin St. SE, and in 1924 she purchased the Warren Daily Chronicle to merge with the Warren Tribune, forming the Tribune Chronicle. Deming was the first woman member of the Associated Press, and she had a leading role in the business, industrial and civic growth of Warren.
Of course, after working for nearly 25 years at the Tribune Chronicle, I already had much knowledge of Deming's impact on our publication. But what I did not know about was her close personal friendship with Harriet Taylor Upton and her support of Upton's work.
The desk that Deming used in her Tribune Chronicle office, in fact, now is on display in the Upton House's small museum.
Despite all her amazing work and historically significant contributions, Upton, sadly, lost her home on Mahoning Avenue NW in 1931 after falling on hard times during The Depression. Upton's belongings were moved to the front porch and sold at auction. She relocated to California to live with family.
Deming, wanting something by which to remember her friend, purchased at auction a beautiful 10-foot tall mirror surrounded by a hardwood frame and marble ledge. The mirror, still in perfect condition, was later donated by Deming's granddaughter and eventual Tribune Chronicle General Manager Zell H. Draz, back to the Upton Association for display in the home.
Upton died in California and her cremains were returned home in recent years after a court case brought in large part by Ken Conklin's vision. The cremains are buried in the Upton House yard.
There is so much more about the history of Upton and her home that I could relay, but I just don't have the space. That's why you'll have to see for yourself!
The home is available for group and school tours, it is open periodically in the summer for public tours, and the home's first floor can even be rented for events and activities. Call 330-395-1840 for information.
blinert@tribtoday.com