FORT SMITH, Ark. (KNWA/KFTA) — In honor of Women’s History Month, the Fort Smith Museum of History told the story of the first woman to vote in a southern election.

Author Ben Boulden visited the museum this weekend to tell the history of Dymple Johnson.
She cast her vote in Fort Smith in 1917, marking the first woman to vote in the South, and before women were given the right to vote federally.

Caroline Speir, executive director of the museum, says the event brought history to life.

“It’s also an extra bit of information that you can come experience as opposed to seeing it on a wall, reading it for yourself, you can come to talk to Ben or when we have other speakers about these events in particular,” said Spier.

The museum hosts history events every month and on April 20, you can see a reenactment of the trial of the Dalton brothers who were outlaws in the 1880s.