Program

National Votes for Women Trail

Subject

People

Location

430 Hickory St, Viroqua, WI 54665, USA

Lat/Long

43.551142, -90.883813

Grant Recipient

National Collaborative for Women's History Sites

Located in Vernon County Wisconsin, Viroqua Cemetery is the burial site of two noted local suffragists: Kate Goodell and Tilda Omundson, both of whom campaigned for women’s right to vote throughout the early 20^th-century, and both of whom played critical roles in establishing the Vernon County Political Equality League (VCPEL) in 1912.

Born in Viroqua in 1877, Goodell attended the University of Wisconsin, and then became a teacher and assistant principal in her hometown. Along with her role in founding the VCPEL, Goodell served as the chairperson of the organization when it was first founded. In 1920 Goodell was one of the first women selected to serve on the Vernon County Republican Committee, and in 1922 she was one of the 44 delegates who attended the Milwaukee Republican Convention. Afterwards, it appears as if Goodell made her way west to California. Though she would pass away in California in 1951, Goodell was buried in her hometown of Viroqua.

Omundson was born two years before Goodell, and she too would work as an educator throughout Wisconsin: first in Westby, then serving as a principal and teacher in Stoddard, and eventually teaching in Viroqua as well. Omundson was a staple of community activism and she held a number of offices in local organizations throughout her life. She also served as the secretary of the VCPEL shortly after it was founded, an event spurred by local women’s suffrage activists attending a statewide conference of the Political Equality League (PEL). At this convention it was decided by the VCPEL founders—Goodell and Omundson included—that a county-level organization was needed. Thus, the VPEL was established.

Along with campaigning for women’s suffrage, Omundson went on to run for the position of mayor of Viroqua in 1934. Though unsuccessful in this bid, she was the first woman to run and be elected to the Viroqua City Council, and she went on to serve three, two-year terms. Omundson passed away in 1962, and like Goodell, she is buried in the Viroqua Cemetery where this marker sits commemorating their activism in the women’s suffrage movement.