MARCH THEME
Women’s History Month
SUMMIT COUNTY COLORADO 150
Photo Courtesy: Summit Historical Society Collection.
Celebrating 150 Years of Summit County History
Women’s History Month
Enjoy reading about each individual we selected to represent each 50 year span! 50+50+50=Colorado 150, plus a bonus highlight every so often from our pre-statehood days.
Support Summit’s Past.
MARCH: WEEK 1
Pre-Statehood
Photo Courtesy: istory Colorado, date unknown
Chipeta
Ute territories, Summit County
Born a Kiowa Apache, Chipeta was raised by the Ute people and as a young woman became the wife and trusted advisor of Chief Ouray. When miners and settlers were moving into ancestral Ute lands in Colorado, Chipeta traveled with Chief Ouray to find a peaceful solution to the resulting conflict. Chipeta was known for building relationships with the settlers, but despite these efforts, many of the Ute people including Chipeta were forced off their lands and onto reservations.
In 1985 Chipeta was inducted into the Colorado Women’s Hall of Fame.
1876-1926
Ms. Markey as Jane Porter in “The Romance of Tarzan”, 1918. Courtesy: IMDb
Enid Virginia Markey
(February 22, 1894 – November 15, 1981)
Dillon, CO
Enid Markey was born in Dillon and in her youth attended boarding school in Denver. The Summit County Journal often reported on Miss Markey’s attendance at parties, hosting teas, and acting in local performances. She was the first performer to portray Jane in the popular Tarzan movies, in 1918. Ms.Markey turned to Broadway in the 1920’s to “learn to act” , ultimately acting in 29 plays on Broadway. In the 1950’s and 1960’s she appeared in numerous television shows including the landlady to Barney Fife on The Andy Griffith Show.
1926-1976
Belle and Helen on their Breckenridge porch, ca. 1960. Courtesy: Summit Historical Society Collection
Belle Turnbull and Helen Rich
Belle Turnbull (1881-1970)
Helen Rich (1894-1971)
Breckenridge, CO
Ms. Turnbull and Rich moved to a log cabin on French Street in Breckenridge in 1939 and became affectionately known as the “Ladies of French Street”. Both writers, Turnbull was a poet best known for her vivid and realistic depictions of mountain mining towns. Among her notable works are “Goldboat” (1940) a novel told in poetry about gold dredging and “The TenMile Range” (1957) a collection of poems. Helen Rich was a novelist and journalist.
Her first novel “The Spring Begins” (1947), a national bestseller, is a romance set in a Colorado mining camp. Her second novel “The Willow-Bender” (1950) describes the effects of the gold dredging boats.
1976-2026
Photo Courtesy: Harriett Bobo
Harriett Bobo
(October, 1942–July, 2018)
Keystone
Harriett was born in Florence, Alabama. Her love of skiing and the mountains brought her to Summit County after a 37 year career with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms. In Summit County, Harriett immersed herself in volunteering with community nonprofits such as the National Repertory Orchestra, Summit County Community and Senior Center garden, and Summit Historical Society.
MARCH: WEEK 2
Courtesy: Summit: A Gold Rush History of Summit County, Colorado by Mary Ellen Gilliland, page 347.
Agnes Ralston Silverthorn
BRECKENRIDGE
(1820-1883)
Born is Glasgow, Scotland in 1820, Agnes came to New York with her father in 1837. She married Marshel Silverthorn in 1849. Making their way west, the Silverthorne’s intended to go to Georgia Gulch but stopped in Breckenridge and stayed.
In 1861, the Silverthorn Hotel opened and flourished for the next 20 years due to Agnes’ smiling and kindly hospitality. Celebrated for her nurturing manner, she was known to bake 40-50 pies each Saturday, acted as nurse for the sick, and became a maternal figure for those far from home.
Local legend credits her with hiding official records when a clerk tried to move the records from Breckenridge to rival Parkville, thus saving Breckenridge as the county seat.
1876-1926
Photo Credit: Summit Historical Society
Lulu Buffington Hogan
(May 6, 1875 – September 14, 1964)
BRECKENRIDGE
Born May 6, 1875, in Mt. Pleasant, Iowa, Lulu Buffington moved with her family to Colorado by the late 1880s and was first mentioned in the Summit County Journal in 1887.
She graduated in 1897 from the State Normal School in Greeley, now the University of Northern Colorado, and began teaching in Breckenridge, where she was described as “very popular.” She was active in the community, including the ladies’ glee club, and frequently visited her mother in Kokomo.
In 1899, Buffington was elected Superintendent of Summit County Schools, becoming the first woman to hold the position. She earned $2,000 annually and was re-elected in 1901. In 1902, she married James T. Hogan in Leadville, where the couple later resided.
1926-1976
Photo Courtesy: Frisco Historical Society
Susan Badger
(1886-1972)
FRISCO, CO
Born in August, Maine, Susan Badger came West in 1916 seeking relief from tuberculosis and settled in Frisco, Colorado in 1934. Raised for a life of Eastern refinement, she instead became one of Summit County’s most devoted public servants.
As mining waned and the silver-camp town struggled, she helped families in desperate need. When a poor family’s baby died in Frisco, Miss Badger cut up her finest handmade satin lingerie to line the tiny casket.
“Miss Badger” never left home without a hat. She propped her little Scotty dog on a board in the back of her open-air automobile as she delivered food, medicine, or rent money to Frisco’s most deprived citizens. At one time, she held five county positions simultaneously—welfare director, employment service representative, deputy sheriff, humane officer, and chairman of the Red Cross—and also served fourteen months as Justice of the Peace. Believing that people wanted work rather than handouts, she helped many local families secure employment and stability during difficult times.
Little talked about but widely known were her back-room poker parties. There, Miss Badger smoked cigars, ditched her corset, and wore no hat. She is buried in the Frisco Cemetery.
1976-2026
Hiking in the 1980’s. Photo Courtesy: Mary Ellen Gilliland
Mary Ellen Gilliland
SUMMIT COUNTY, CO
Mary Ellen Gilliland is a Summit County historian, story teller, author, and hiking enthusiast, having written 17 books and almost 200 magazine and newspaper articles.
A popular speaker, as well, her book SUMMIT, a Gold Rush History of Summit County, 25th Anniversary Edition is considered a “must own” by those interested in the early days of the county. Her book covers mining, ranching, ghost towns, railroads and colorful characters. Her books about historic hiking trails have inspired locals and visitors to lace up their hiking boots.
In 2025, Mary Ellen was inducted into the Colorado Authors’ Hall of Fame.
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