Marking NM’s Historic Women: Harriet Belle Amsden Sammons

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Photo Credit: https://econtent.unm.edu/digital/collection/farmington/id/452/rec/2

Harriet Belle Amsden Sammons

Harriet Belle Amsden Sammons was the first female bank president in New Mexico, operating the First National Bank in Farmington from 1922 until 1951. She began working at the bank in 1912 and proved to be a humane and astute financial manager. During the Depression she bought out the San Juan National Bank, keeping it solvent and approving loans. She supported the newly formed United Indian Traders Association and kept many Farmington citizens out of bankruptcy.

Roadside Marker Location: San Juan County, Farmington, NM Highway 516, Mile Marker 1.2

Roadside Marker Location: Bernalillo County, Albuquerque, 1st St and Gold Ave

You can view a county by county list of the Historic Women Mile Markers in this pdf.

You can view a map of the Historic Women Mile Markers at www.nmhistoricwomen.org

March is Women’s History Month. During this month we’ll be highlighting some of the women featured on New Mexico’s Historic Women Roadside Markers. Text provided by our colleagues at New Mexico Historic Preservation Division

https://snaccooperative.org/ark:/99166/w6x10n1v

Marking NM’s Historic Women: Ida O. Jackson

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Photo Credit: http://www.clovis-schools.org/lincolnjackson/history_lincoln-jackson.html

Ida O. Jackson, 1890-1960, Educator

Clovis schools were segregated when Ida O. Jackson arrived from Texas in 1926 to teach African-American youth. Starting with two students in Bethlehem Baptist Church, she encouraged early education and by 1935 taught 35 students in a one-room schoolhouse. Named the Lincoln-Jackson School to honor her and the nation’s sixteenth president, school enrollment topped 100 by the 1940s. Ida also taught Sunday school, opened her home to those needing housing, and helped launch the Federated Progressive Club for black women working to improve the community.

Roadside Marker Location: Curry County, Clovis, Intersection of US 60/84 and Beta Street, SE

You can view a county by county list of the Historic Women Mile Markers in this pdf.

You can view a map of the Historic Women Mile Markers at www.nmhistoricwomen.org

March is Women’s History Month. During this month we’ll be highlighting some of the women featured on New Mexico’s Historic Women Roadside Markers. Text provided by our colleagues at New Mexico Historic Preservation Division

Marking NM’s Historic Women: Agueda S. Martinez

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Photo Credit: http://albuquerque.emuseum.com/people/4643/agueda-s-martinez

Agueda S. Martinez (1898–2000)

Agueda is the matriarch of Hispanic weaving in New Mexico. From a very young age, she was known for her complex designs and natural dyes. She was the subject of the Academy Award-nominated documentary film, “Agueda Martinez: Our People, Our Country.” Her weaving is carried on by fifty-two direct descendants and can be seen today in many museums, including the Smithsonian.

Roadside Marker Location: Rio Arriba County, US Hwy 84, Mile Marker 203

You can view a county by county list of the Historic Women Mile Markers in this pdf.

You can view a map of the Historic Women Mile Markers at www.nmhistoricwomen.org

March is Women’s History Month. During this month we’ll be highlighting some of the women featured on New Mexico’s Historic Women Roadside Markers. Text provided by our colleagues at New Mexico Historic Preservation Division

Marking NM’s Historic Women: María Gutiérrez Spencer

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Photo Credit: https://www.nmhistoricwomen.org/location/maria-gutierrez-spencer/

María Gutiérrez Spencer (1919-1992) “Advocate for Social Justice”

Punished for not speaking English in school, María Gutiérrez Spencer devoted her life to validating the Indo-Hispano experience. A graduate of University of California, Berkeley and New Mexico State University, she pioneered bilingual and bicultural education in New Mexico, founding BOLD: Bicultural Orientation and Language Development in Silver City. Maria battled cancer for 50 years, but traveled worldwide to train teachers. She was honored by the Wonder Woman Foundation with Rosa Parks in 1981.

Roadside Marker Location: Doña Ana County, Las Cruces, NM Highway 138

You can view a county by county list of the Historic Women Mile Markers in this pdf.

You can view a map of the Historic Women Mile Markers at www.nmhistoricwomen.org

March is Women’s History Month. During this month we’ll be highlighting some of the women featured on New Mexico’s Historic Women Roadside Markers. Text provided by our colleagues at New Mexico Historic Preservation Division

Marking NM’s Historic Women: Carlotta Thompkins Thurmond

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Photo Credit: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/14303628/carlotta-j.-thurmond

Carlotta Thompkins Thurmond “Lottie Deno” (1844-1934)

Immortalized in literature and film, Kentucky native Carlotta Thurmond was the inspiration for Miss Kitty on television’s “Gunsmoke.” Having toured Europe’s best gambling houses as a child with her father, in Texas she called herself “Lottie Deno,” a play on “lotta dinero.” Fellow gamblers said she had ice water in her veins, yet when she moved to Kingston, New Mexico, she left many belongings for the needy. She gave up gambling upon moving in 1882 from Silver City to Deming where she co-founded St. Luke’s Episcopal Church.

Roadside Marker Location: Luna County, US Hwy 180/62, Mile Marker 144.7

You can view a county by county list of the Historic Women Mile Markers in this pdf.

You can view a map of the Historic Women Mile Markers at www.nmhistoricwomen.org

March is Women’s History Month. During this month we’ll be highlighting some of the women featured on New Mexico’s Historic Women Roadside Markers. Text provided by our colleagues at New Mexico Historic Preservation Division

Marking NM’s Historic Women: Dr. Meta L. Christy

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Photo Credit: https://www.nmhistoricwomen.org/location/meta-l-christy/

Dr. Meta L. Christy (1895–1968)

Meta L. Christy, DO, is recognized by the American Osteopathic Association as the first black osteopath. Dr. Christy graduated in 1921 from the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine as its first black graduate. The College gives an annual award in her name. She established her lifelong private practice with quiet dignity when there were no women physicians or osteopaths in local hospitals and few blacks in Las Vegas.

Roadside Marker Location: San Miguel County, Las Vegas, 727 Grand Avenue

You can view a county by county list of the Historic Women Mile Markers in this pdf.

You can view a map of the Historic Women Mile Markers at www.nmhistoricwomen.org

March is Women’s History Month. During this month we’ll be highlighting some of the women featured on New Mexico’s Historic Women Roadside Markers. Text provided by our colleagues at New Mexico Historic Preservation Division

Marking NM’s Historic Women: Harvey Girls & Mary Elizabeth Jane Colter

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Harvey Girls and Mary Elizabeth Jane Colter (1869–1958)

(SIDE 1) In 1883, the Fred Harvey Company hired women to serve in its diners and hotels along the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway. Thousands of respectable, intelligent women were recruited from the Midwest and East Coast to come west. Known as Harvey Girls, many of these women stayed and became founding members of their adopted communities, forever changing the cultural landscape of the Wild West.

Mary Colter (r) showing blueprint to Mrs Ickes (wife of secretary of interior.) Circa 1935. NPS: https://www.nps.gov/articles/marycolter.htm

 (SIDE 2) In 1902, the Fred Harvey Company hired Mary Colter as interior designer of the Alvarado Hotel in Albuquerque. She was an architect for the company when few women worked in the field. She designed many famous resorts and inns, including the hotel interiors of La Fonda in Santa Fe. In 1987, four of her buildings in Grand Canyon National Park were designated a National Historic Landmark.

We have several videos related to the Harvey Girls and Mary Colter in our Fred Harvey Company video playlist on YouTube.

Roadside Marker Location: Bernalillo County, Albuquerque, 1st St and Gold Ave

You can view a county by county list of the Historic Women Mile Markers in this pdf.

You can view a map of the Historic Women Mile Markers at www.nmhistoricwomen.org

March is Women’s History Month. During this month we’ll be highlighting some of the women featured on New Mexico’s Historic Women Roadside Markers. Text provided by our colleagues at New Mexico Historic Preservation Division

From the Collection: Coffee Talk

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NMHM/DCA 00194.45

Who could use an extra cup of coffee this morning?

Shapleigh Coffee Co. tin canister used in the Dietrich family in Santa Fe during the late 19th century. Established in 1796 in Boston, MA, the former Allen, Shapleigh, & Co. coffee manufacturer was well-known on the East Coast for their “mocha java” blend. While we’re not certain how this canister came to New Mexico – either via wagon train or on the rails – the Dietrichs may have used this canister to store other goods long after the Shapleigh coffee ran out.

This yellow, orange, and gray painted canister measures 19.75” high and 16.75” wide with a depth of 15.75.”

Marking NM’s Historic Women: Esther Martinez, P’oe Tsawa

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Photo Credit: Britannica ImageQuest, Encyclopædia Britannica, 25 May 2016.

Esther Martinez, P’oe Tsawa (1912–2006), Ohkay Owingeh

Esther Martinez served her community as an educator, linguist and storyteller. Her foremost contributions to our state are documenting and preserving the Tewa language and the art of storytelling. Esther was named a National Heritage Fellow in 2006 by the National Endowment of the Arts, the nation’s highest honor for artists.

Preserving the Language, Preserving the Culture – A National Endowment of the Arts article on Esther Martinez, P’oe Tsawa.

Roadside Marker Location: Ohkay Owingeh Pueblo; Rio Arriba County, US Hwy 68

You can view a county by county list of the Historic Women Mile Markers in this pdf.

You can view a map of the Historic Women Mile Markers at www.nmhistoricwomen.org

March is Women’s History Month. During this month we’ll be highlighting some of the women featured on New Mexico’s Historic Women Roadside Markers. Text provided by our colleagues at New Mexico Historic Preservation Division

Marking NM’s Historic Women: Fabiola Cabeza de Baca Gilbert

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Photo Credit: Palace of the Governors Photo Archives
Fabiola Cabeza de Baca Gilbert in kitchen
Negative Number 148467

Fabiola Cabeza de Baca Gilbert (1895–1991)

Raised on a ranch at La Liendre, Fabiola received a degree from New Mexico Normal School. She worked as a rural teacher and an agricultural Home Extension agent. In the 1930s, she became a charter member of La Sociedad Folklorica. An author and teacher, she dedicated her life to preserving Hispanic traditions. In 1954, she wrote “We Fed Them Cactus,” a book about growing up at La Liendre.

La Sociedad Folklorica de Nuevamexico ten year jubilee celebration at La Fonda, Santa Fe, New Mexico
Date: 1945
Negative Number 009928
Notes: Includes Fabiola C de Baca Gilbert (second from left) and Cleofas Martinez (third from right)

Roadside Marker Location: La Liendre Community, San Miguel County, NM Highway 67 at junction with NM Highway 104

You can view a county by county list of the Historic Women Mile Markers in this pdf.

You can view a map of the Historic Women Mile Markers at www.nmhistoricwomen.org

March is Women’s History Month. During this month we’ll be highlighting some of the women featured on New Mexico’s Historic Women Roadside Markers. Text provided by our colleagues at New Mexico Historic Preservation Division