Antoinette Brown-Blackwell of Henrietta was the first woman to be ordained as a Protestant minister in the United States.

"Somebody had to break the ice so Antoinette broke the ice," said Wayne County Historian Peter Evans.

Evans says she studied ministry at Oberlin College, wrote for Frederick Douglass' "The North Star," then found her way to the first National Women's Right's Convention.

There she met a retiring pastor from the Congregational church in South Butler and got the opportunity she had been waiting for.

"This Congregational church said we will ordain you and we will make you our minister," said Evans.

In 1853, she was ordained at the nearby Baptist church but her new role came with unique challenges.

"Many people said the bible said women can't speak and she said that's absolutely baloney and she would pull out these passages and prove the bible never said," Evans explained.

Being at odds with members of her congregation led to her resignation a year later.

While she didn't stay in South Butler for long, Evans believes her influence was felt long after she left.

"It's the idea. It isn't actually the person. It isn't what they personally did. It was the idea that yes, that you can have a woman minister."

Blackwell stepped away from the ministry, but guided by her faith, she kept fighting for women's suffrage and women's rights throughout her life.

Evans believes she was rewarded when she saw women granted the right to vote in 1920. She passed away in 1921. 

"She was so committed. She never gave up and that's what it takes," said Evans.