Frances Perkins was honored as the first woman to serve on a presidential cabinet/Library of Congress

Frances Perkins, the first woman to serve in a presidential cabinet, was memorialized Monday through establishment of the Frances Perkins National Monument at her hometown in Newcastle, Maine.

President Joe Biden on Monday created the national monument during a signing ceremony at the Department of Labor with Interior Secretary Deb Haaland, Acting Secretary of Labor Julie Su, and leaders of the labor and women’s rights communities.

The centerpiece of the national monument is the Perkins Family Home, built in 1837 and known as the Brick House. Designated a National Historic Landmark in 2014, the Perkins Homestead is a 57-acre property along the Damariscotta River that supported the family for generations. Visitors experience the same landscape, garden paths and wooded walking trails that were a lifelong source of inspiration and rejuvenation for Perkins.

The monument, the 433rd unit of the National Park System, reflects efforts under the president’s Executive Order to recognize and honor women's history and to strengthen the recognition of women’s history in national parks and historic landmarks across America and honor the legacy and contributions of women and girls to the nation.

Frances Perkins served Secretary of Labor from 1933 to 1945. She was appointed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt.

During her tenure, Perkins engineered sweeping reforms in workers’ rights and labor standards, including implementation of safety standards, a minimum wage, paid overtime, Social Security benefits, and child labor laws.

“Frances Perkins was an incredible trailblazer. I am grateful to President Biden for taking this step to ensure that current and future generations will learn about her body of work,” said Haaland. “Frances Perkins accepted the position as the first female Cabinet member only after President Franklin D. Roosevelt agreed to support her goals to improve working conditions for all people. She worked tirelessly to see them to fruition, and she set a standard of excellence that is a beacon for all of us who serve. Today, we’re taking a step to ensure that children growing up across America know the name Frances Perkins and understand the impact she has had on our country.”

Born in 1880, Perkins was an advocate, scholar, teacher, wife, mother, suffragist, author, and social worker with decades of experience in New York state government as a safety, consumer and workers’ advocate prior to her historic appointment to Roosevelt’s Cabinet, much of it accomplished before women obtained the right to vote in 1920. Her efforts to champion workers’ rights and ensure safe working conditions in the state served as a model for what she would accomplish on the national level.

During her tenure as the longest-serving Secretary of Labor, Perkins was an instrumental force in Roosevelt’s New Deal policies that aided recovery from the Great Depression. Perkins and Secretary of the Interior Harold Ickes were the only members of Roosevelt’s Cabinet to serve through the duration of his presidency. Together, they created public works programs that employed millions of people, including the Civilian Conservation Corps.

“American workers are truly indebted to Frances Perkins, a champion of workers’ rights who devoted her life to improving the lives of others,” said National Park Service Director Chuck Sams. “As America’s storytellers and historians, the addition of her home to the National Park System will help us advance our commitment to sharing a fuller and more inclusive account of our nation’s history. I appreciate the Frances Perkins Center for their leadership in preserving her story and partnership with the National Park Service to keep the legacy going.”

At the National Parks Conservation Association, President and CEO Theresa Pierno said that, "[O]ur national parks are places to explore and learn about our nation’s history. With the addition of Frances Perkins’ story, we now have 13 national park sites dedicated to the contributions of women and we know there is more work to be done. Millions of visitors who enjoy our national parks will now know the woman who transformed American culture for the better by ending child labor, providing a safety net for the unemployed, and designing a Social Security program we depend on to this day. Frances Perkins worked tirelessly to ensure the United States government truly served the people. Today, her commitment to social reform lives on in her policies and through this new national park site. We commend the Biden administration for this designation that will inspire countless future leaders.”

Haaland on Mondayt also announced five new National Historic Landmarks recognizing women’s history: The Charleston Cigar Factory in Charleston, South Carolina; The Furies Collective, and Lucy Diggs Slowe and Mary Burrill House, both in Washington, D.C.; Azurest South in Petersburg, Virginia; and the Peter Hurd and Henriette Wyeth House and Studios in San Patricio, New Mexico. A National Historic Landmark designation is the Department’s highest federal recognition of a property’s historical, architectural or archeological significance, and a testament to the dedicated stewardship of many private and public property owners who seek this designation.