A historic Williamsburg figure will be honored in a monument in Richmond and this time, it’s a woman.
“I think it’s an important reminder to all of us about possibilities at any time,” said Sandra G. Treadway, librarian of Virginia and a member of Virginia Women’s Monument Commission. “Having more women in our collective narrative history is important because they were there, they made contributions.”
On Monday, the Virginia Women’s Monument Committee will honor 12 historic Virginia women with statues in the “Voices from the Garden” event at the Capitol Square in Richmond.
One of the 12 women being honored, Clementina Rind, is a Williamsburg native who took over printing The Virginia Gazette after her husband’s death in 1773, according to the Virginia Museum of History and Culture’s website.
Rind was the first female printer in the colonies during a time when her newspaper influenced policy makers and political opinions on the cusp of the American Revolution.
“We know 18th century women didn’t vote and were constricted,” Treadway said. “But I think to know and understand that within those boundaries women used their ingenuity and creativity to create opportunities that did make a contribution.”
When Rind took over the editorship and business management of the newspaper, she made sure the publication didn’t miss a single issue while raising her five children on her own.
At the time the newspaper operated out of what is now known as the Ludwell-Paradise House. Rind took to heart the paper’s motto, “Open to all parties, but Influenced by none,” when considering the way her publication could influence the nation.
Under her direction, the newspaper started publishing not only information about foreign and domestic affairs, shipping news and advertisements but it also came to publish essays, articles and poems.
Rind eventually was chosen as the public printer to the colony, which meant she printed important government documents such as the journals for the two houses of government.
“She wasn’t sure that the powers that be would allow her to do it at first,” Treadway said. “But they did, and I think it’s a testament to her reputation and the quality of her work.”
On Monday, only four of the 12 statues will be revealed and Rind will not be among them. Each of the statues costs approximately $300,000 and Rind’s statue still needs more donations for funding.
For those interested in donating, visit the Women’s Monument Commission online.
Once the statue is erected, Rind will be portrayed reading a copy of The Virginia Gazette.
The women selected for the monument come from all over Virginia and across four centuries, but Treadway said the commission also realized an importance in representing Williamsburg.
“We wanted the statues to be of real women,” she said. “As we looked at various women from different backgrounds, her story resonated because she wasn’t necessarily from the elite but still had an influence in shaping the minds and opinions of policymakers.”
Once it is finished, the monument will feature 12 bronze statues and a glass wall with 230 names of other important women in Virginia history.
“This is very important because women today and future generations, they’ll have something to look up to,” Treadway said.
