Frances Dana Gage / Mount Airy Mansion

One of Ohio’s earliest proponents of women’s rights, Frances Dana Gage (1808-1884) was born in Marietta and married McConnelsville attorney James L. Gage in 1829. She immersed herself in the major social issues of the day – temperance, abolition, and universal suffrage – while raising eight children. At a women’s rights convention in 1850, Gage gained national attention by proposing that the words “white” and “men” be removed from Ohio’s constitution. She later served as the editor of an Ohio agricultural journal, as an educator for newly emancipated African Americans, and wrote children’s tales under the pen name “Aunt Fanny.” An enormously influential woman, Gage led the way for Ohio’s next generation of social activists.

[Side B]: Mt. Airy Mansion, a Federal style home built in 1843, is best known as the home of Frances Dana Gage. As a prominent leader in the women’s rights movement, Gage hosted many women’s rights meetings in the mansion’s Ball Room. In 1868, Hugh and Mary Cochran purchased the home, which remained in the family for 107 years. The Cochrans owned and operated the Cochran Tobacco Company from 1837 until 1951. The cigar manufacturer was the largest employer in Morgan County, and was recognized as the largest manufacturer of plug tobacco north of the Mason-Dixon line at the beginning of the Civil War.