Shaunasy Pashby

By Shaunasy Pashby of The Pathfinder

March 3, 2026

Courtney Kramer opened Lewis-Clark State’s Women’s History Month series Tuesday, March 3, with a lecture highlighting the critical role women have played in historic preservation and shaping American cultural memory. 

The presentation, titled “Guardians of Memory,” drew a full audience of students, faculty, community members, and LC State President Cynthia Pemberton. Kramer, a former member of Beautiful Downtown Lewiston, framed her discussion within the larger context of Women’s History Month and its theme this year, which coincides with the United States’ semiquincentennial celebration.

Kramer traced the origins of historic preservation in Europe, focusing on post-Enlightenment France, where the French Revolution disrupted centuries of cultural heritage. She detailed how revolutionary forces destroyed statues and properties they associated with monarchy, often erasing significant layers of history, only for some artifacts to be rediscovered centuries later. Kramer emphasized that these early efforts highlight the complex decisions societies face when balancing political change with cultural memory.

Shifting focus to the United States, Kramer highlighted how women used historic preservation to foster a shared national identity, particularly in the years following the Civil War. Programs like the Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS) and the Federal Writers’ Project during the Great Depression created lasting records of American architecture and personal histories. HABS produced detailed drawings and photographs of historic structures, while the Federal Writers’ Project conducted hundreds of interviews that remain important primary sources for educators and historians. Kramer noted that the absence of women interviewers may have influenced which stories were recorded and how openly respondents shared their experiences.

Post-World War II preservation efforts expanded with the creation of the National Trust for Historic Preservation in 1949 and the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966. Kramer highlighted the 1966 law that established the National Register of Historic Places, created state preservation offices, and required federal agencies to consider the impact of projects on historic sites. She noted women’s leadership throughout the movement, citing former first lady Jacqueline Kennedy’s successful campaign to save New York’s Grand Central Station as a pivotal moment in public advocacy for historic preservation.

Kramer also explored how the scope of preservation has broadened in modern times to include not only early American landmarks but also modern architecture and sites significant to marginalized communities. Using Monticello as a case study, she detailed how historical narratives have evolved. For decades, the experiences of enslaved people and Thomas Jefferson’s relationship with them were minimized or ignored. DNA evidence confirmed in 2011 that Jefferson fathered children with an enslaved woman, prompting a reevaluation of the site’s history. Current preservation efforts, including the restoration of Mulberry Row, now aim to present a more complete and inclusive narrative, highlighting the lives, labor, and agency of enslaved individuals such as Kate, a mother and midwife whose story reflects the broader complexities of history at the site.

Throughout the lecture, Kramer encouraged attendees to view historic sites not simply as isolated monuments but as part of an interconnected landscape that reflects the nation’s cultural, social, and political history. She stressed the importance of understanding both celebrated figures and the often-overlooked communities whose contributions shaped America.

The event marked the first in a series of Women’s History Month presentations at LC State. Upcoming talks include a lecture on the women of Hamilton by a senior in police sciences and a presentation on food history and revolutions by Dr. Van Lanen, chair of the humanities division, highlighting the diverse ways women’s history intersects with American culture.

Kramer’s lecture offered attendees a deeper appreciation of women’s roles in preserving the nation’s history and emphasized the ongoing responsibility to tell these stories fully and inclusively.