South Pass City in Fremont County, Wyoming — The American West (Mountains)

Esther Hobart Morris

Photographed by Barry Swackhamer, August 24, 2014

1. Esther Hobart Morris Marker

Inscription. Two related, side-by-side markers pay tribute to Esther Hobart Morris.
Home & office site of
Esther Hobart Morris
First woman Justice
of the Peace
in the World
Feb. 14, 1870
——————————
Author with W.H. Bright
of the first
equal suffrage law
Dec. 10, 1869

Esther Morris
Controversy exists concerning Esther Morris and women suffrage. In 1869, the legislature passed and Governor Campbell signed a woman suffrage bill authored by William Bright, a South Pass City resident. As a result, Wyoming became the first territory or state to allow women the right to vote.

For eight months in 1870, Esther Morris served as South Pass City’s justice of the peace, making her the nation’s first woman judge. After her death in 1901, some historians claimed that Mrs. Morris had helped Bright write the suffrage bill. Believing this theory, the Historical Landmark Commission dedicated the adjacent marker in 1939 on the former location of the Morris family’s five room cabin.

However, recent studies indicate that Bright was the only author of the suffrage bill, although he may have received some urging from his wife Julia and some help from Edward Lee, Secretary

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of the Territory. Morris probably held court in the county building near the center of town.

Today, Esther Morris is recognized as the nation’s first woman justice of the peace. The monument and the nearby 1870 period cabin honor Mrs. Morris, who exemplified the spirit of frontier women.

Erected 1939 by Historical Landmark Commission of Wyoming.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Civil Rights • Government & Politics • Women. A significant historical month for this entry is February 1868.

Location. 42° 28.104′ N, 108° 47.89′ W. Marker is in South Pass City, Wyoming, in Fremont County. It is on South Pass Main Street near South Pass City Road / B Street, on the right when traveling east. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 22 South Pass Main Street, Lander WY 82520, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Wind River Country.

It is also in the American Mountain West.

Globally, it is in North America,

the Rocky Mountains,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 2 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: South Pass City (about 700 feet away, measured in a direct line); First Masonic Lodge in Wyoming (approx. ¼ mile away); South Pass City: Wyoming’s Biggest Gold Boom and Bust (approx. 0.4 miles away); The Carissa Mine: Cycle of Boom and Bust (approx. 0.4 miles away); Crushing Gold Ore (approx. half a mile away); The English Tunnel

Photographed by Barry Swackhamer, August 24, 2014

2. Esther Hobart Morris Marker

(approx. 0.6 miles away); How a Stamp Mill Works (approx. ¾ mile away); South Pass and South Pass City (approx. 1.8 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in South Pass City.

More about this marker. These markers are in South Pass City State Historic Site.

Photographed by Barry Swackhamer, August 24, 2014

3. Esther Hobart Morris Marker

Esther Hobart Morris image. Click for full size.

Public Domain

4. Esther Hobart Morris

Credits. This page was last revised on September 26, 2020. It was originally submitted on January 6, 2015, by Barry Swackhamer of Brentwood, California. This page has been viewed 2,304 times since then and 49 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on January 6, 2015, by Barry Swackhamer of Brentwood, California. • Andrew Ruppenstein was the editor who published this page.