In 2020, the Old Guilford County Court House was set to get a 100-year birthday celebration that was shaping up to be a very large event. COVID-19 had other plans for the party, however – and the old building that’s the center of Guilford County government never got the recognition it deserved.

But on Friday morning, Oct. 7, the old court house at 301 W. Market St. in Greensboro finally did get a lot of attention due to a different ceremony – one commemorating the creation of the NC League of Women Voters.

The North Carolina chapter was created at the old court house on October 7, 1920. The event and monument unveiling celebrated that chapter’s 102-year anniversary. This party, too, got put off for two years by the pandemic.

Members of the NC League of Women Voters from across the state were on site for the unveiling of a historical trail marker and monument honoring long-time women’s suffrage activist Gertrude Weil – in addition to honoring the creation of the NC League of Women Voters.

In 1911, Weil joined the National American Woman Suffrage Association, which was fighting to give women across the country the right to vote. In North Carolina, Weil played a key leadership role in the cause.

When the Guilford County Board of Commissioners met the night before the celebration, Commissioner Kay Cashion said that the group of celebrants was going to make a whole day of it with events planned later in the day including one at the International Civil Rights Center and Museum, which is a stone’s throw away from the old court house.

The event was attended by members of the Piedmont Triad Chapter of the League, the North Carolina State Chapter and special guests from the National League of Women Voters.

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