Civil rights & activism
Clara Arthur
1858–1929 · suffragist, playground and public health reformer
Detroit suffragist who led the Michigan Equal Suffrage Association and, as the Mother of the Playground Movement, built the city's playground system.
- Born
Saint John, New Brunswick- Died
aged 70- Birth name
- Clara Peters
- Also known as
- Clara B. Arthur · Mother of the Playground Movement
- Detroit years
- 1880s–1929
01 / The Detroit story
The Detroit story
Clara Peters was born in Saint John, New Brunswick, in 1858 and became one of Detroit's leading reformers. In 1885 she co-founded the Michigan Equal Suffrage Association, and as its president from 1906 she won a change to the state constitution that let women vote on certain local questions such as taxes and bonds. She remained a driving force in the statewide campaign that finally won Michigan women the vote in 1918, after six years of effort. Inspired by playground movements in Boston and Chicago, she turned an empty lot into Detroit's first playground in 1899. From 1901 she chaired the Local Council of Women's playground committee, and when the city council balked she persuaded the school board to let her build playgrounds on school grounds. By 1929 Detroit had 138 playgrounds and 17 swimming pools. She also helped found the Detroit Anti-Tuberculosis Society. She died in 1929, is buried in Woodlawn Cemetery and is honored in the Michigan Women's Hall of Fame.
Highlights
- Co-founded the Michigan Equal Suffrage Association in 1885; president from 1906
- Helped win Michigan women the vote in 1918
- Created Detroit's first playground in 1899
- Known as the Mother of the Playground Movement
02 / Their Detroit places
Their Detroit places 1
Where they lived, worked, performed and liked to hang out. Closed and demolished places stay here too, because they are part of the city's history.
Buried here · 1929–
Woodlawn Cemetery
Historic North Woodward cemetery where she was buried in 1929.