Beginning with Eliza Spalding, Narcissa Whitman and their husbands who were the first white travelers on the Oregon Trail to set foot in Idaho, to famous women such as Lana Turner and Picabo Street, Idaho’s women have been making history for centuries.
Gracie Pfost (1906-1965)
Pfost was the first woman from Idaho elected to Congress – in fact, the University of Idaho credits her as the only woman from Idaho to serve in Congress. Not only did she win a seat once, but each election held through 1960. She earned the nickname “Hell’s Belle” for her tireless work on a bill to construct a dam at Hells Canyon. She also worked for civil employees retirement benefits, lead and zinc mining and agriculture. She ran an unsuccessful campaign for U.S. Senate, but was appointed by President Kennedy as Special Assistant for Elderly Housing in the Federal Housing Administration where she served until her death.
Margaret Roberts (1896-1952)
Credited with creating Idaho’s state library and the first free public kindergarten, Roberts was also very active with women’s suffrage.
Marie Dorion (1790-1850)
Born in Iowa, Dorion was the only woman in a trapping expedition. Dorion and her young children stayed at base camp while the men went off to trap beaver. Friendly Indians let Dorion know the men were in trouble and she went after them to save any of them she could. She found all but one dead (the other man died soon after) leaving Dorion and her children alone in Idaho in the middle of winter. According to Historynet.com, she managed to keep them alive by eating horse meat and melted snow. They were on their own in the wilderness for 53 days.
Dr. Minnie Howard (1872-1965)
Dr. Howard retired from the medical profession after the birth of her second son, but that doesn’t mean she retired from public life. According to Idaho State University, Dr. Howard founded and was an executive member of many organizations, including Pocatello Women's Republican Club, Art & Travel Club, Pocatello Music Club, and Southern Idaho Historical Society.
Myrtle Enking (1879-1972)
Enking is the first female state treasurer for Idaho and only the second female to become state treasurer in the United States.
Little information is available about women like Maude Largent Cosho who exposed $100,000 of a City Clerk's thefts or Ida Leggett, the first African American appointed as judge. They and so many other women refused to take no for an answer, pushing the line for what was acceptable for women in their lifetimes, and opening doors for us today.
For More Information on Women’s History
Important Women in Delaware History
