Handkerchief, Campaign - Sid McMath Gubernatorial
Object number2018.009.01
Date1951
Associated LocationLittle Rock, Arkansas, United States of America
MediumCloth
Credit LineOld State House Museum Collection
DescriptionA handkerchief worn by Anne McMath with her Campaign Outfit (see 2015.036.06.1-2). Anne McMath campaigned for her husband Sid during the 1948 Gubernatorial election. The handkerchief is white with dark blue lettering and reads "Sid Mcmath is my man".Sarah Anne Phillips McMath, Originally from Slate Spring, Mississippi, Sarah Anne Phillips attended the Mississippi State College for Women until health problems prevented her from finishing. In Washington, D.C. during World War II, she met Sidney Sanders McMath and the couple married and when the war was over moved to Hot Springs, Arkansas. When Sid McMath became governor in 1949, the McMaths became the initial First Family to occupy what today is known as the Governor’s Mansion. As First Lady, Anne faced numerous challenges. Not only did she have to manage the duties of being First Lady and preparing the new governor’s house for occupancy, she also had to raise a very young family – their youngest was born the same year Governor McMath took office!
Sidney “Sid” Sanders McMath was born June 14, 1912 in Columbia County, Arkansas. McMath won the election for prosecuting attorney for the Eighth Judicial District in 1947, and soon after being sworn in, McMath formally charged Hot Springs Mayor Leo McLaughlin with accessory to election fraud. The next year, 1948, McMath was elected governor. During his four years as governor he was able to add more than 2,000 miles to the state highway system, extended power to all regions of the state, secure funds for the School of Medicine at the University of Arkansas (now the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences), and help to consolidate and integrate schools. The governor’s mansion was completed 1949, and the McMath family became its first residents. He died on October 4, 2003 in Little Rock.
Status
On view
