Camden, Tenn.–An event honoring and commemorating the naming of a section of State Highway 70 in Camden after the first woman voter in Tennessee will be held Friday morning.
Mary Cordelia Beasley Hudson (“Aunt Cord”) of Camden cast the very first vote by a female in Tennessee on April 22, 1919. Her vote was cast in a Camden Municipal Election and came just days after the deciding vote in the Tennessee Legislature made it legal for women to vote.
Benton County Mayor Brett Lashlee said Aunt Cord intended to vote in the national election, too, but died before she could accomplish that. Aunt Cord died Oct. 2, 1920 and that is why that date was selected for the event.
The dedication will begin around 8 a.m. Friday, October 2nd and take place at the intersection of Extension Street and Highway 70E. Lashlee said a two-mile stretch of highway will be named Aunt Cord Way and it runs right by the home where she spent most of her life.
Welcomes will be presented by Lashlee and Camden Mayor Roger Pafford, followed by remarks by family members of Aunt Cord, including Milan City Mayor BW Beasley.
There will be a “Dutch-treat” breakfast with the Beasley-Hudson family relatives afterwards at Country & Western Restaurant.
Officials ask that everyone wear face-coverings or masks.