Mary Latimer McLendon (June 24, 1840 – November 20, 1921) was an activist in the prohibition and women's suffrage movements in the U.S. state of Georgia.

During her lifetime, she saw the ratification of both the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution, which, respectively, instituted nationwide prohibition of alcohol and expanded suffrage to women.

[2] Both sisters grew up in the Old South as part of a slaveholding family during the Antebellum era that later supported the Confederacy during the American Civil War.

[4] During their childhood, the family became involved in a Christian revival that was occurring in the area during that time, and both women would eventually become members of the Methodist church.

[8] At the outbreak of the Civil War, the family remained in Atlanta, with Nicholas serving as a member of a quartermaster department with the Confederate States Army.

[10] In addition to early temperance education, she pushed unsuccessfully for the Georgia branch of the WTCU to support women's suffrage, a position already endorsed by the national organization.

She was disappointed in the decision by Methodist officials in the state to not allow their churches to be used as meeting places for the WTCU, as they disapproved of the national organization's stance.

[2] Even after these changes, the WCTU would continue to remain active, pushing for greater enforcement of prohibition and increased education efforts, among other policies.

[13] In January 1895, NAWSA held its annual convention in Atlanta, with McLendon giving a welcoming address before a standing-room only crowd at DeGive's Opera House.

Headlined by speeches given by Susan B. Anthony and Methodist minister Anna Howard Shaw, this was the first annual convention held by NAWSA outside of Washington, D.C., and brought significant attention to the suffrage movement in Georgia.

[19] The fountain, which features a carving in her likeness,[15] was dedicated in October 1923 as the first memorial ever erected in the capitol building in honor of a woman.