COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) — The Colorado Springs Pioneers Museum will soon honor a modern-day pioneer by installing a statue of the city’s first and only female mayor. Her name was Mary Lou Makepeace, and she served as mayor from 1997 to 2003. The Mary Lou Makepeace statue is the first part of a larger project to honor the accomplishments of women throughout the city.

The former mayor told KRDO13 that there are many women in this city who have made a difference in the community, but she feels like they are not always recognized. She is on a mission to change that.

“This is an opportunity to honor the many different women who have made Colorado Springs great, and to give a lot of credit to the men as well. And that’s great. They’ve made great contributions. But somehow the women have been overlooked,” said Mary Lou Makepeace, former mayor of Colorado Springs.

The statue is part of a “Women’s Walk Project” in which other statues, murals and various artworks will be displayed along a path that takes people from the Pioneers Museum to Acacia Park.

Construction of the statue is expected to take at least six months. There is no official timeline for completion of the entire Women’s Walk project.