Inauguration Day occurs every four years on Jan. 20 (or Jan. 21 if Jan. 20 falls on a Sunday). The inauguration ceremony takes place at the U.S. Capitol building in Washington D.C. The date of Jan. 20 is due to the 20th Amendment. The 20th Amendment to the Constitution was ratified on Jan. 23, 1933. From George Washington’s second term through Franklin D. Roosevelt’s first term, inauguration day was generally held on March 4. The 20th Amendment was designed to remove the long period of time between the election and inauguration.

On Nov. 2, 1983, President Ronald Regan signed the King Holiday Bill into law, designating the third Monday in January a federal holiday in observance of civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. This was after years of persistence by civil rights activists for the holiday to be approved by the federal government. The holiday is on the third Monday of January to coincide with Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday, which is on Jan. 15. Martin Luther King Jr. Day is designated as national day of service to encourage all Americans to volunteer.

Occasionally, Inauguration Day and Martin Luther King Jr. Day fall on the same day and this year both are on this Monday.

The photograph featured this week from the Lyon County Museum’s collection shows an invitation to the inauguration of Woodrow Wilson as president of the United States on March 4, 1913. We have four copies of the invitation in the collection along with an envelope. The envelope has United States Senate, Inaugural Platform, and 1541 printed on it. In pencil, it is written Mrs. Axtell in the middle and on the bottom it has This is David’s. The items belonged to the late Jim Winn of Marshall and were later donated to the Lyon County Museum.

I’m assuming that the Mrs. Axtell is Frances Cleveland Axtell. Frances Axtell was a suffragist, politician, and federal official. She was one of the first female legislators in the United States, elected to the Washington House of Representatives in 1912. On Jan. 5, 1917, President Wilson appointed her to the Federal Employees’ Compensation Commission. She served as chair of the Commission in 1918 to 1921.

The Lyon County Historical Society (LCHS) is a nonprofit, member-supported organization. LCHS operates the Lyon County Museum at 301 West Lyon Street in Marshall. The Lyon County Museum is open year-round to visitors. To contact us, visit our website: www.lyoncomuseum.org, call: 507-537-6580, email: director@lyoncomuseum.org, or on our Facebook page.