Marking NM’s Historic Women: The Women of Shakespeare

A view of 3 adobe buildings with peaked rooves with at flat bed wagon in the foreground.
Palace of the Governors Photo Archives
Abandoned railroad tracks and buildings in Shakespeare, New Mexico
Creator: New Mexico Tourism Bureau
Date: 1950 – 1960?
Negative Number: HP.2007.20.508

Women of Shakespeare: Emma Marble Muir (1873–1959), Rita Wells Hill (1901–1985), Janaloo Hill Hough (1939–2005)

Emma Marble Muir arrived at the mining town of Shakespeare in 1882. She and her daughter, Rita Wells Muir, learned to appreciate and preserve the town’s history. Rita and her husband bought Shakespeare as part of their ranch in 1935. Rita passed the ranch to her daughter, Janaloo Hill Hough. Janaloo and her husband continued fighting for the history and preservation of Shakespeare. Investing their own resources, they rebuilt some of the buildings destroyed by a fire in 1997. Without the dedication of this mother, daughter and granddaughter, the ghost town of Shakespeare would not exist today.

Roadside Marker Location: Hidalgo County, I-10, Mile Marker 20

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