December 10 marks the 150th anniversary of Wyoming becoming the first state to allow women to vote, and there will be several celebrations around Northeast Wyoming.
The Campbell County Historical Society will host a reading of the 1869 legislation that granted Wyoming women the right to vote at the Campbell County Courthouse at 12:15 p.m. County Commissioners' Administrative Director Carol Seeger will do the reading. The county elections office will also host a voter registration drive.
Later that evening at 7:00 p.m., the Campbell County League of Women Voters and the Rockpile Museum will host a screening of the Wyoming PBS documentary, State of Equality: Wyoming Women Get the Vote.
Treasurer for the local chapter of the women's civic group Judith Semple said the organization is hosting the event to continue its original mission of education. The League of Women Voters began during the national women's suffrage movement.
"We quickly realized that education was very important for these new voters, so that's where the League of Women Voters came from. That's the beginning of that organization," she said.
The Campbell County Historical Society will also be there selling its new book, "Wyoming Home of the Women's Vote: 55 Amazing Campbell County Women." Some of the women featured in the book will attend. The event is open to the public.
The Sheridan Press and the Brinton Museum will also screen the documentary. Attendees will hear from some of the subjects from The Press's year-long special project featuring inspirational women in the state. That event is open to the public but has been sold out.
Have a question about this story? Email the reporter, Catherine Wheeler, at cwheel11@uwyo.edu
