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Hundreds of people flocked to Richmond’s Capitol Square on Monday for the official unveiling of the long-awaited Virginia Women’s Monument.

Seven life-size bronze statues of Virginia women were installed on a granite plaza just below the Capitol, surrounded by a Wall of Honor bearing the names of 230 prominent Virginia women etched on glass, with room for more names to be added in the future. Five more statues are to be added, for a total of 12.

“It’s a monumental day,” said former first lady Susan Allen, the chair of the Virginia Capitol Foundation.

When Allen lived in the Executive Mansion, from 1994 to 1998, she would talk to tourists about the statues on the Capitol grounds, all of which were of men.

“Part of the story was left out,” she said. “I think of the years ahead when people will walk among these statues and learn the story of these women.”

The women who were chosen for the monument represent more than 400 years of Virginia history, from Indian chief Cockacoeske to Elizabeth Keckley, a seamstress who bought her freedom and became the dressmaker for Mary Todd Lincoln.