Jeannette Rankin's Georgia Home

Jeannette Rankin (1880-1973) was the first woman to serve in Congress: being elected from Montana in 1916 before women had the right to vote in other states. She was active in women's suffrage and was a peace advocate who opposed all war. She was one of only fifty persons in Congress who voted against entry into WW I. Her position was unpopular and she did not return to Congress. She purchased land near the Oconee-Clarke County line in the twenties and lived there on a seasonal basis. She purchased 44 acres on this site in 1933. She renovated an old farm house and used it as a seasonal residence that became her beloved "Shady Grove". In the 1920's she helped found The Georgia Peace Society that worked for over ten years to support the Kellogg-Briand Pact which would have outlawed war as a way of settling disputes. She was reelected to Congress in 1940 from Montana. She cast the only vote against entry into WW II after President Roosevelt's "Day of Infamy Speech". Steadfastly she remained active in peace movements during the Vietnam Era, participating in the "Jeannette Rankin Brigade" march in Washington on January 15, 1968.