Suffrage Meeting Locations on Maryland's Eastern Shore
Suffragists were committed to making sure their message reached as many people as possible. They held open air meetings, speaking from soap boxes on street corners and at fairgrounds. Activists held “suffrage teas” at private residences. Clubs and social circles invited speakers to give talks at courthouses, theaters, and schools.
Snow Hill Opera House – According to the Maryland Suffrage News, the Snow Hill Opera House hosted suffrage meetings. Suffragists from Baltimore and around the Shore would speak to the local community. In 1912, Mayor William Corddury presided over a meeting at which members of the Just Government League of Maryland visited to gather support for the cause.
Salisbury City Hall – The city hall in Salisbury was considered one of the most accessible places for suffrage meetings in Wicomico County as it had the space to hold large gatherings. Amy Hardcastle Pattinson, the Eastern Shore organizer for the Just Government League, visited city hall to judge an essay writing contest in 1914. Salisbury High School students were offered the opportunity to write essays on “Votes for Women” and finalists read them aloud at a meeting. The winner of the grand prize was Sara Griffin Moore, who won a total of $5.
Washington Hotel - In Somerset County, the parlor of the Washington Hotel in Princess Anne was a gathering space for suffragists and anti-suffragists to go and talk about their views. In February 1914, Pattison organized a meeting for anyone who wanted to attend to learn more about the cause. The meeting was attended by 25 people, 22 of whom would go on to form the Somerset County branch of the Just Government League.