This paper outlines the educational history of women in the United States and focuses on three women educators from the nineteenth century: Emma Willard, Catherine Beecher, and Mary Lyon. The paper considers their contributions to teaching and teacher education--all of these women founded schools to educate women. While these women paved the way for all women educators today, their stories portray the perspectives of white women in 19th-century America, since women of color were marginalized and were not allowed to tell their stories. The paper concludes that the road to literacy for women has been a "bumpy one filled with gaping potholes." It finds that numerous political, social, and economic factors have stood in the way of a woman's right to be an educator and enjoy effective teacher training programs. (Contains 16 references.) (NKA)