Politics & Government

Wyoming celebrates the 100th anniversary of the nation’s first female governor

Wyoming Public Radio | By Kamila Kudelska

Published January 2, 2025 at 5:07 PM MST

Image 2: Photo of a coin minted to honor Nellie Tayloe Ross as the Director of the U.S. Mint., 1933. Box 18, Nellie Tayloe Ross papers, American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming.

January 5 marks 100 years since the first woman was sworn in as a governor in the United States.

Wyoming’s Nellie Tayloe Ross was elected governor in 1924 after her husband, William Ross, died unexpectedly of appendicitis in the middle of his term. The Democratic Party nominated Nellie to take his place.

Mrs. Ross wanted the job.

“Being first lady of Wyoming, she had a taste of politicking,” said Kylie McCormick, a project director with the Wyoming Historical Society. “I think that she had a vision for what she could do in that position, and she had some things that she wanted to get done for the state.”

Ross won by a narrow vote to become the state’s 14th governor.

She spent her time in office carrying on policies her husband focused on, like strict enforcement of Prohibition. She also introduced her own. Those included giving protections to women in the industrial sector, requiring cities, counties and school districts to have budgets and earmarking state mineral royalties for school districts.

McMormick said Ross didn’t want to be called out as a woman, but even so, she championed issues that mattered to women.

“When we think about Prohibition today, we seem to forget really the context from which that emerged,” said McCormick. “It really started as a women's rights movement and a fight against domestic violence.”

Only a few of Ross’ policies passed during her tenure, but McCormick says a lot of them were eventually picked up.

“The funding for our schools and using the natural resources that we have here in Wyoming to help support our education is, I would say, a legacy of Nellie Tayloe Ross,” said McCormick.

Nellie lost her reelection bid but went on to become the longest running director of the U.S. Mint in 1933.

Last month, Gov. Mark Gordon signed a proclamation to recognize this year's anniversary as Nellie Tayloe Ross Day. The proclamation was written by a Green River High School class.

Check out Open Spaces on Jan. 10 for a more in depth interview with Wyoming historian Kylie McCormick about Nellie Tayloe Ross’ life and legacy.