Marie Stuart Edwards

Social reformer Marie Stuart Edwards moved to Peru in 1914, later living in this house from 1917 to 1926. As president of the Woman's Franchise League from 1917 to 1919, she mobilized a statewide network of suffragists. She led the league's WWI relief efforts while managing Peru Chair Works. In 1921, Edwards was elected vice president of the national League of Women Voters (LWV). From Peru, she forged a national network of LWV branches and citizenship schools. She worked with the league for decades, helping pass legislation protecting women and children, lobbying for public sanitation, and working for disarmament. As a member of various state boards between the 1920s and 1950s, she advocated for prison rehabilitation and education reform.

Peru, Indiana · United States