Helene Haack Allen
Helene Haack Allen and her family contributed in many ways to the development of Fort Sumner, including establishing and running businesses, museums, and a theater. Most notably, her gift of the family’s land provides a sobering reminder of the forced displacement and...
Harvey Girls
The Harvey Girls were the brain-child of Fred Harvey, an entrepreneurial spirit who envisioned a path of gentility, courtesy, and fine dining along railroads of the west. At a time when women had few options other than teacher or wife and little prospect of achieving...
Harriet Belle Amsden Sammons
Harriet B. Sammons, believed to be the first woman bank president in New Mexico, was instrumental in the development of Farmington, New Mexico, and San Juan County, and was an integral part of the Farmington community. An avid reader who loved to entertain friends and...Fern Sawyer
Dessie Sawyer and her daughter Fern Sawyer are two women whose accomplishments and lasting benefits are hard to separate. Both came from ranch life in southern New Mexico in the counties of De Baca, Lea, and Lincoln. They could equal men in ranching skills, sought an...
Three Wise Women: Eva Scott Fényes, Leonora Scott Muse Curtin, and Leonora Frances Curtin Paloheimo and the Acequia Madre House®
Eva Scott Fényes (1849-1930), Leonora Scott Muse Curtin (1879-1972), and Leonora Frances Curtin Paloheimo (1903-1999)—mother, daughter, and granddaughter—were three visionary women ahead of their time who were not constrained by societal codes. They were primarily...
Lea County Cowgirls
Dessie Sawyer and her daughter Fern Sawyer are two women whose accomplishments and lasting benefits are hard to separate. Both came from ranch life in southern New Mexico in the counties of De Baca, Lea, and Lincoln. They could equal men in ranching skills, sought an...
Carlotta Thompkins Thurmond “Lottie Deno”
Carlotta Thompkins “Lottie Deno” Thurmond lived a life of legend, and in so doing, likely became the inspiration for the Miss Kitty character in the popular TV series Gunsmoke. Born in Warsaw, Kentucky, on April 21, 1844, her early life, particularly her...
Ana de Sandoval y Manzanares
For all of New Mexico’s history under Spanish and Mexican administrations, in some respects, women had more legal rights then their English, North American counterparts. Ana de Sandoval y Manzanares is a pointed example. After surviving the 1680 Pueblo Revolt, she...