2026 Victoria Woodhull Woman of Achievement Award
Nominations are now closed. Thank you to everyone who nominated an inspiring Licking County woman!
Our selection committee is reviewing this year’s nominees, and we look forward to selecting and announcing our 2026 honoree. Watch for updates here on our website and on the Robbins Hunter Museum’s social media.
About the Award
The Victoria Woodhull Woman of Achievement Award recognizes a Licking County woman who embodies leadership, courage, compassion, and determination and has made significant contributions to her community and beyond.
The award honors the legacy of Victoria Woodhull, a Licking County native whose advocacy for women, children, the poor, and working people challenged the conventions of her time. By celebrating women who carry that spirit forward, we hope to inspire others to make a positive difference in their communities.
Award nominees demonstrate:
A strong commitment to education and continuous learning.
A spirit of philanthropy and service to others.
Determination and persistence in pursuing their goals and making a positive impact.
Past Victoria Woodhull Woman of Achievement Award Honorees
2011 – Amy Butler
2012 – Leslie Greene Bowman
2013 – Jill Harms Griesse
2016 – Sarah Reese Wallace
2017 – Joanne Woodyard
2018 – Florence R. Gibson
2020 – Rita Kipp
2023 – Patricia Perry
2024 – Carol Apacki & Connie Hawk
2025 - Jeanetta Pyle & Ashley Washburn
The Robbins Hunter Museum
The Robbins Hunter Museum boasts the first memorial to Victoria Woodhull in the United States, a clock tower on the west side of the building. Given by Robbins Hunter to the village of Granville as a bicentennial gift, Hunter wanted the clock to inspire interest in Woodhull and her place in history and further, to inspire future generations to study and be inspired by her. A hand-carved statue of Victoria Woodhull appears a few minutes before every hour from the clock tower.
About Victoria Woodhull
One of our very own Licking County residents, Victoria Woodhull was born in Homer, Ohio, in 1838. Self-educated and raised in relative poverty, Victoria Woodhull developed a flair for public speaking and became known as a fierce activist for women’s suffrage and equal rights.
In the 1870s, she appeared on podiums across the country, often with thousands in the audience for a single lecture. Her dynamic life included such firsts as being one of the first woman stock brokers on Wall Street with her sister, Tennessee. Woodhull was the first American woman to address Congress and the first to run for the office of President of the United States. She ran in 1872 as a candidate for the Equal Rights Party, and her running mate was abolitionist Frederick Douglass. She lost the election to Ulysses S. Grant.
In 2001, Woodhull was inducted into the National Women’s Hall of Fame in Seneca Falls, New York.