Women of the American wild west had to be a resourceful lot to cope with the elements that surrounded them: the harsh conditions, lawlessness and living in an age where there were few amenities.
Some women took to the gun as readily as any man and others made lives for themselves apart from dignified society.
But for women who made the trek west with their families, their lot was in raising children, running a household (that included food processing, candle and soap making, spinning, weaving, knitting, etc.), establishing schools and churches, and occasionally, warding off Indian attacks. Some were deeply involved in human and voting rights (the suffragette movement).
Here are just a few profiles of some of the more famous or infamous of the ladies of the wild west. This page is being constructed as you read this and more profiles will be constantly added.
Annie Oakley
Belle Starr
Big-Nose Kate
Calamity Jane
Willa Cather
Mary Jane Colter
Cattle Kate
Abigail Scott Duniway
Helen Hunt Jackson
Carry Amelia Moore Nation
Poker Alice
Laura Ingalls Wilder
Women’s Suffrage
Events highlighted by women of the west: In 1880, backed by the National Women’s Christian Temperance Union, Kansas Governor John St. John forced through prohibition legislation, making Kansas, the site of famous towns like Dodge City where the saloon had been almost a symbol of civic life, the first state in the America to “go dry.”
And in 1881, Helen Hunt Jackson published “A Century of Dishonor”, the first detailed examination of the federal government’s treatment of Native Americans in the West. This historical document shocked the nation with proof that empty promises, broken treaties and brutality helped pave the way for white pioneers.