Women Breaking Barriers Exhibit Open at Roanoke Island Festival Park

By on September 12, 2023

Susan Dimock, ca. 1865. The first woman doctor in North Carolina. Photo Courtesy of The Louis Round Wilson Special Collections Library. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

The traveling exhibit “Women Breaking Barriers in Northeastern North Carolina” is open at Roanoke Island Festival Park. This free exhibit is open to the public Tuesday – Saturday, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. through Oct. 31, in the Ticket Sales Gallery.

The exhibit was created in 2020 to mark the 100th anniversary of women’s suffrage in America. The exhibit highlights women of northeastern North Carolina and how their experiences, stories and challenges changed the path of history. The focus is on women breaking barriers in areas such as public service, literature, medicine, activism, journalism, and more.

Susan Dimock of Beaufort County is featured as the first woman doctor of North Carolina. Some of the other women include Carolista Baum of Dare County, Dorothy Spruill Redford of Washington County, Lovie Beard Shelton of Beaufort County and Georgia Harvey Morgan of Pasquotank County.

This traveling exhibit is on loan from the Museum of the Albemarle.

About the North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources

Roanoke Island Festival Park is a part of the N.C. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources (DNCR), manages, promotes, and enhances the things that people love about North Carolina – its diverse arts and culture, rich history, and spectacular natural areas. Through its programs, the department enhances education, stimulates economic development, improves public health, expands accessibility, and strengthens community resiliency.

The department manages over 100 locations across the state, including 27 historic sites, seven history museums, two art museums, five science museums, four aquariums, 35 state parks, four recreation areas, dozens of state trails and natural areas, the N.C. Zoo, the N.C Symphony, the State Library, the State Archives, the N.C. Arts Council, the African American Heritage Commission, the American Indian Heritage Commission, the State Historic Preservation Office, the Office of State Archaeology, the Highway Historical Markers program, the N.C. Land and Water Fund, and the Natural Heritage Program. For more information, please visit www.ncdcr.gov.

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