Worcester's Most Famous Tax Protester Gets Her Corner Back: Photos

WORCESTER, MA — A 19th Century Worcester suffragist and abolitionist famous for an 1858 tax protest has taken her corner of the city back for good.

On Monday, Worcester officials and representatives from Suffrage100MA — a nonprofit commemorating the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment — gathered in the Main South neighborhood to dedicate a plaque honoring Sarah Wall.

The marker stands where Wall's home used to — the same home the Worcester tax collector seized in 1863 to pay her back taxes. Wall argued that she was being taxed without representation, since she wasn't allowed to vote for the elected officials who were collecting those taxes.

Wall was able to get her 2 Sycamore St. property back after taking the city to court. She died in 1907, but her efforts helped build toward the 19th Amendment, which was ratified in August 1920.

The Wall marker is one of five coming to sites across Massachusetts from Suffrage100MA as part of the National Votes for Women Trail.

"Each marker honors the lives of those who bravely worked to advance women’s voting rights, with more than half of these markers dedicated to women and men of color," Suffrage100MA President Fredie Kay said.

You can visit the Wall marker today at the corner of Main and Sycamore streets, and learn more about the celebration of 100 years of suffrage on the Suffrage100MA website.