Suffrage Study Club

Written By Dino DiPietro

Here’s a detailed account of the Babylon Suffrage Study Club:

📍 Founding & Location

  • The club was established in February 1912 at the Alhambra Theatre (later located at 99–101 Deer Park Avenue, Babylon Village). Its first meeting, held on February 16, 1912, drew around 200 women, and was presided over by Babylon Village Mayor Edward Alley

🎙️ Founding Speakers & Purpose

  • The inaugural event featured Ruth Carpenter‑Litt, a prominent landowner from East Patchogue, who introduced Harriet May Mills, then-President of the New York State Woman Suffrage Association

  • Mills spoke of removing the word “male” from the state constitution to grant voting equality

  • The club's mission: to debate, discuss, and support both New York State and national women’s voting rights

📅 Early Activities

  • In a meeting on March 8, 1912 (voter referendum day), the club encouraged members to visit polling stations

  • The local newspaper, South Side Signal, praised the effort, expressing hope for a “yes” outcome on suffrage propositions

  • The club secured a daily column in the South Shore Signal, overseen by Edna Kearns, editor and suffrage advocate from the Brooklyn Daily Eagle

🗓️ Event Types

The club organized a variety of activities to raise awareness and engage the community:

  • Public talks and debates

  • Social gatherings and community events

  • Marches and organized demonstrations

🪧 Historic Marker & Legacy

  • A William G. Pomeroy Foundation historical marker was erected in 2017 at 101 Deer Park Road, Babylon. It reads:

“Local branch organized in 1912 at Alhambra Theatre to debate, discuss and support women’s state and national voting rights”

  • The marker is part of a wider initiative celebrating the New York State suffrage centennial, installed publicly on Deer Park Road north of Montauk Highway

🧩 Significance

The club illustrates how local grassroots activism—from theater-based study sessions to polling encouragement and media outreach—helped bolster the broader movement for women's suffrage in New York and the United States.

Dino DiPietro