Overview
Title: Women in Colorado
Topic: Impactful and political women of Colorado
Theme/Focus: Women’s roles in Colorado history
Location(s): Colorado
Essential/Inquiry Question(s): How did women play a pivotal role in the development of Colorado?
*Images may be downloaded and will save in the highest resolution available from History Matters.
Author
Courtney Cohen
Historical Context/Background
Women play an essential role in the development of Colorado, especially in terms of voting rights, anti-slavery movements and ideologies, advocating for the preservation of indigenous lands, and overall initiating political groups as well as movements to fight for a multitude of women’s rights. This resource set is going to provide a look into the individual lives of important women, as well as larger events that contribute to the understanding of women’s rights in Northern Colorado today.
Women like Elizabeth “Auntie” Stone provided a home for soldiers as they were in the area, while also teaching school children. Before leaving Kentucky and moving to Colorado, Clara Brown was an enslaved woman, and when she obtained her freedom and moved to CO, she opened a safe haven for both slaves who were trying to escape the South, as well as those who obtained their freedom but had nowhere to go. Helen Hunt Jackson took up the task of trying to protect Indigenous land by both advocating for it as well as writing about it in any place that would publish her work. There was also a wide variety of women who actively participated in the Women’s Suffrage Movement, including Julia Archibald Holmes, Ellis Meredith, Margaret “Molly” Brown, Dr. Alida Corenlia Avery, as well as many other women in Northern Colorado. This resource set explores these women, their lives, and their impacts on Northern Colorado in a detailed manner with attached videos, photos, and descriptions.
Resources
"Auntie" Elizabeth Stone
Elizabeth “Auntie” Stone – Fort Collins History Connection
Chronology of the “Founding Mother of Fort Collins” (PDF)
Description: Elizabeth “Auntie” Stone is considered the founding mother of Fort Collins, CO. Born in 1801 in Connecticut, Stone moved to Colorado in 1862 with her second husband, Judge Stone. Originally starting her Colorado experience in Denver, Stone and her husband were asked to move to Fort Collins to open the first Fort Collins military mess hall. At the same time, she was the only Euro-American woman to have settled in Fort Collins for an entire year. She aided soldiers through a number of actions, which is why she was given the title of Auntie, as well as the founding mother of Fort Collins. She waited her lifetime for the privilege to vote, and she was able to cast her first vote at age 93.
Significance: This source shows the first documented case of a Euro-American woman living in Fort Collins, CO. Not only was she the only woman for a brief period of time, but she left a large impact on the community in the way she worked with other women who migrated after her, as well as how she supported soldiers during wartime. In this mess hall, she offered warmth and safe passage for soldiers, and provided them with food if needed. She was known for her humor and caregiving, which is why many of the soldiers called her Auntie. After her husband passed, she expanded the mill into a hotel for soldiers, and worked at the first school house developed in Fort Collins.
Elizabeth’s niece became the first schoolteacher in Fort Collins. Because of the impact Elizabeth made in Fort Collins, a dance was held in her honor at the Masonic Hall. Even after this party, she went home so she was able to cook breakfast for soldiers the next morning. After she had passed away in Fort Collins at age 93, all businesses that had developed suspended operation for that day, and rang the bell in the firehouse 94 times in honor of her, and the impact she made. Moving forward into the 1990’s, about 100 years later, a street in Fort Collins was dedicated to her, known as the “Auntie Stone Street.” Even 100 years after her passing, she is still recognized for what she did for the town and people of Fort Collins, CO.
Possible Inquiry Questions:
- How did women play an important role in aiding American soldiers?
- Why was Elizabeth “Auntie” Stone considered the founding mother of Fort Collins?
- What did Elizabeth do to support the community and develop the image of women?
Clara Brown
Female Pioneers: Outstanding Women in Colorado’s History: Clara Brown
Description: Before moving to Colorado, Clara Brown was an enslaved woman born into the institution in Kentucky. When Brown turned 56, the slave laws in Kentucky had changed, making her a free woman. Brown was the first woman to cross the plains and arrive in Colorado, where she opened her own laundry mat. With the funds she made, she purchased large amounts of property to provide food and shelter for former slaves who were in Colorado. She also founded the first Protestant church in Colorado, earning her the nickname “Aunt Clara.”
Possible Inquiry Questions:
- How did the African American population contribute to the development of Colorado?
Significance: Because of the effect she had on the freed black population in Colorado, she was inducted into the Society of Colorado Pioneers, Colorado Women’s Hall of Fame, and Colorado Business Hall of Fame. In the capital building in Denver, Colorado, there is a stained glass window created in honor of Clara Brown.
We can look at the multiple different ways women of all races and ethnicity have played a role in the development of Colorado. Women aren’t usually discussed as a pivotal role anywhere in History, so it is important to shed light on individuals as well as groups who have gone unnoticed, but made a difference.
Helen Hunt Jackson
Female Pioneers: Outstanding Women in Colorado’s History – Helen Hunt Jackson
Description: Helen Hunt Jackson was best known for her advocacy for Indigenous tribes. After traveling the nation as well as Europe and seeing the treatment inflicted on Indigenous tribes, Helen took up writing on the issue of Native American treatment. Even though her beliefs were unpopular at the time, Jackson and her work were memorialized in Cheyenne Canyon, and she was buried in Evergreen, Colorado. Helen Hunt Jackson is most famous for her publication “A Century of Dishonor“, one of the first works to openly criticize the mistreatment of Native Americans in the 19th century.
Possible Inquiry Questions:
- How did people outside the Indigenous community support them and the mistreatment they faced?
Significance: Jackson was not afraid to speak out against the wrongdoings of the government to Native Americans. Not only did she have a major effect in Colorado, but her work was nationally known for supporting Indigenous tribes.
We can look at the multiple different ways women of all races and ethnicity have played a role in the development of Colorado. Women aren’t usually discussed as a pivotal role anywhere in History, so it is important to shed light on individuals as well as groups who have gone unnoticed, but made a difference
Julia Archibald Holmes
Colorado Women’s Hall of Fame: Helen Hunt Jackson
Description: In the seventeenth century, women were expected to be homemakers. However, after moving out to Colorado with her husband and her brother, she no longer wanted to be confined to the house, and wanted to explore the outdoors like so many pioneers were doing. Discovering Pikes Peak while working in the Garden of the Gods, Julia decided that she was going to be the first woman to climb this mountain. After her climb, she started working with women suffragist groups by organizing female clerks, and continuously attempting to vote, even though it was not allowed at the time.
Possible Inquiry Questions:
- What is the significance of a woman no longer wanting to be a homemaker during this time, as well as being the first woman to climb Pikes Peak?
Significance: Her actions may have inspired many other women to not be afraid to do what they want to do, and experience the wonderful outdoors that is Colorado.
We can look at the multiple different ways women of all races and ethnicity have played a role in the development of Colorado. Women aren’t usually discussed as a pivotal role anywhere in History, so it is important to shed light on individuals as well as groups who have gone unnoticed, but made a difference.
Ellis Meredith
Colorado Women’s Hall of Fame: Ellis Meredith
Description: Ellis Meredith was known as the Susan B. Anthony of Colorado, as she led Colorado’s suffrage movement in the late nineteenth century. While simultaneously fighting for the women’s right to vote, she also became the first Colorado woman to cover the state legislature in a written source. She continued to write about these issues even after women were granted the right to vote in Colorado.
Possible Inquiry Questions:
- How does Ellis Meredith play a key role in obtaining the women’s right to vote in Colorado?
Significance: Shows the political progress made in terms of giving the women the right to vote not just in Colorado, but nationally. We can look at the multiple different ways women of all races and ethnicity have played a role in the development of Colorado. Women aren’t usually discussed as a pivotal role anywhere in History, so it is important to shed light on individuals as well as groups who have gone unnoticed, but made a difference.
Margaret “Molly” Tobin Brown
Colorado Women’s Hall of Fame: Margaret “Molly” Tobin Brown
Description: Most well known for surviving the Titanic shipwreck, Margaret “Molly” Brown also played an essential role in the early Colorado Suffrage movement. Marrying a man in Leadville, Colorado, Molly helped establish the Colorado Chapter of National American Women’s Suffrage Association. After relocating to Denver, Colorado, she helped to found the Denver Women’s Club, which advocated for literacy, education, suffrage, and human rights.
Possible Inquiry Questions:
- How did women play an essential role in gaining their right to vote?
Significance: Shows the political progress made in terms of giving the women the right to vote not just in Colorado, but nationally. We can look at the multiple different ways women of all races and ethnicity have played a role in the development of Colorado. Women aren’t usually discussed as a pivotal role anywhere in History, so it is important to shed light on individuals as well as groups who have gone unnoticed, but made a difference.
Dr. Alida Cornelia Avery
Colorado Women’s Hall of Fame: Alida Cornelia Avery
YouTube: Dr. Alida Cornelia Avery
Description: Dr. Alida Cornelia Avery was Colorado’s first woman to practice medicine, while also serving as the Superintendent of Hygiene for the state of Colorado. She was also elected the first president of the Colorado Women’s Suffrage Association, playing a pivotal role in women getting the right to vote in Colorado.
Possible Inquiry Questions:
- How did women come together in the Colorado Women’s Suffrage Movement to achieve the right to vote?
Significance: Shows the development of women gaining the right to vote, as well as women gaining the right to practice medicine. We can look at the multiple different ways women of all races and ethnicity have played a role in the development of Colorado. Women aren’t usually discussed as a pivotal role anywhere in History, so it is important to shed light on individuals as well as groups who have gone unnoticed, but made a difference.
Elizabeth Piper Ensley
Colorado Women’s Hall of Fame: Elizabeth Piper Ensley
Description: Elizabeth Piper Ensley was an African American activist and suffragist. Like many of the other women mentioned, her leadership in Colorado’s voting rights campaign was essential. She was also one of the 28 original members of the Non-Partisan Equal Suffrage Association of Colorado. It was very uncommon for African American women to work in suffrage because of the time period, which makes Kelsey’s story that much more spectacular. She was also able to convince African American men to vote for women’s suffrage.
Possible Inquiry Questions:
- How might it have been different for African American women versus white women advocating for women’s rights?
Significance: One of the limited accounts in Colorado that shows an African American woman fighting for women’s suffrage. We can look at the multiple different ways women of all races and ethnicity have played a role in the development of Colorado. Women aren’t usually discussed as a pivotal role anywhere in History, so it is important to shed light on individuals as well as groups who have gone unnoticed, but made a difference.
Dr. Caroline Spencer
Colorado Women’s Hall of Fame: Dr. Caroline Spencer
Description: Dr. Caroline Spencer was a key player in organizing and managing the radical wing of the women’s suffrage movement in Colorado. Overtime, she became one of the most significant regional and national leaders of Alice Paul’s (another well known women suffragist) National Women’s Party. To get her point across, she would go out in public with banners and interrupted mens political speeches asking them what they would do to help women suffragists. She even went as far as to protest in front of the White House, being arrested three times. She risked her life so women would have the right to vote.
Possible Inquiry Questions:
- Why was the concept of protesting and picketing so important to women’s rights?
Significance: She was a founding member of the Women’s Club of Colorado Springs in 1902, and of the Civic League in 1909. We can look at the multiple different ways women of all races and ethnicity have played a role in the development of Colorado. Women aren’t usually discussed as a pivotal role anywhere in History, so it is important to shed light on individuals as well as groups who have gone unnoticed, but made a difference.
