The Louisa Swain Foundation rededicated the newly renovated courtyard of the Wyoming Women’s History House Friday in downtown Laramie, honoring three of the original supporters who helped make the house possible 25 years ago.
The honorees were U.S. Sen. Cynthia Lummis, Jon Johnson and Ray Hunkins. The Foundation also dedicated the courtyard’s two new gardens to Diana Enzi and in memory of Bobbi Barrasso, two longtime champions of Wyoming women’s history.
U.S. Sens. John Barrasso and Lummis and U.S. Rep. Harriet Hageman, along with other state and local elected officials, joined Foundation leaders, founding supporters, donors and community members for the ceremony.
The courtyard is home to “The Franchise,” the Foundation’s statue of Louisa Swain, who on Sept. 6, 1870, cast her ballot just a block away and became the first woman in the United States to vote on equal terms to a man.
Redesigned this summer, the courtyard now features four patio areas to welcome the community and host events; three gardens of drought-tolerant plants, shrubs and trees; and “Common Threads,” a new mural by Laramie artist Cassidy Post featuring Louisa Swain and Nellie Tayloe Ross, the nation’s first woman governor.
“Twenty-five years ago, Senator Lummis, Jon Johnson and Ray Hunkins understood that Wyoming’s legacy as the Equality State deserved more than a footnote,” said Jennifer Thomson, chair of the Louisa Swain Foundation, in a news release. “It deserved a permanent home. Their vision created a place where the women who led Wyoming, and the nation, are honored, celebrated and remembered, and their names on this courtyard now greet every visitor who comes to learn those stories.
A ballot box is shown in front of the Louisa Swain statue during a September 2018 re-enactment at the Wyoming Women’s History House in downtown Laramie.
Laramie Boomerang/file
“Our new gardens honor Diana Enzi and the memory of Bobbi Barrasso, who carried that legacy to Washington, D.C., and helped secure its place on the national stage. Together, this courtyard and these gardens reflect the women we celebrate: rooted in Wyoming, built to endure and open to all. We are grateful to our honorees, our donors and everyone who made today possible, and we look forward to the next 25 years.”
Courtyard rededication
The Louisa Swain Foundation rededicated the newly renovated courtyard recognizing Lummis, Johnson and Hunkins as among the History House’s most passionate and generous early donors and its most insistent advocates for telling Wyoming women’s history.
Lummis, Wyoming’s first woman elected to the U.S. Senate, led the law naming the federal building in Cheyenne for Louisa Swain, the first federal building in the region named for a woman, and has been a strong supporter of the Smithsonian American Women’s History Museum. Johnson, a Laramie financial advisor, donated the land for the purpose of building the Wyoming Women’s History House. Hunkins’ book, “The View from Thunderhead,” gives special attention to Wyoming’s suffrage movement, and all of its proceeds benefit the Louisa Swain Foundation.
“For more than 25 years, I have been proud to be part of this project, and today I was so pleased to be at this beautiful courtyard rededication and garden dedication,” Lummis said. “Women’s history is a vital part of Wyoming’s amazing story, and this house reminds our daughters and granddaughters that leadership and community involvement is expected of them here in Wyoming, just as Louisa Swain and so many other Wyoming women showed us.
“Thank you to everyone who joined us today and to all of the board members, volunteers, and donors who have worked to make the Louisa Swain Foundation and the Wyoming Women’s History House such a success.”
Hageman added: “Wyoming women pioneered women’s rights on the frontier of equality throughout the 19th century. We earned our legacy as the ‘Equality State’ from our first days as a territory. That slogan remains our state motto today, where Nellie Tayloe Ross became the first woman governor, and Esther Hobart Morris, whose statue stands tall in the United States Capitol, served as the world’s first female justice of the peace.
“These iconic women left big shoes to fill for the women who pursue public service in their footsteps. And Cynthia Lummis, is one such woman who has filled those shoes with nearly half a century serving in office.”
Garden dedication
The two new gardens honor Enzi, who has spent decades championing Wyoming and the women who shaped it and today helps lead the Wyoming Chapter of the Smithsonian Women’s History Museum, and the late Bobbi Barrasso, who served Wyoming on the staffs of former Sens. Malcolm Wallop and Craig Thomas and championed Wyoming women’s history through the Louisa Swain Foundation. Bobbi Barrasso passed away in January 2024. Together, Enzi and Bobbi Barrasso helped give Wyoming women’s history a footprint in Washington, D.C. and beyond, and used their voices to share the rich history of Wyoming women.
“Wyoming has always led the way for women, from the first law granting women’s suffrage to electing the nation’s first woman governor,” Sen. John Barrasso said. “It was an honor to support the Louisa Swain Foundation in recognizing women who carried that legacy forward, including my colleague Senator Lummis, the incomparable Diana Enzi, and my incredible late wife, Bobbi. I’m grateful to the Foundation for honoring them with lasting tributes, including gardens dedicated to Bobbi and Diana. These selfless women put Wyoming first. Their legacies will inspire generations of young women.”
The program also included remarks from muralist Post and former Louisa Swain Foundation scholarship recipient Hannah Small, and closed with a rededication toast from Joanne Mai, executive director of the Louisa Swain Foundation and the Wyoming Women’s History House.
Looking ahead
During its first 25 years, the Wyoming Women’s History House has welcomed more than 7,000 visitors, students on field trips and guests at its popular Sip ’n Savor History events. With community support, the Foundation plans to:
• Bring Wyoming women’s history into classrooms across the state through virtual field trips.
• Complete Phase II of the courtyard, including an irrigation system, additional drought-tolerant plantings and a Trailblazers timeline along the central walkway featuring more than 20 Wyoming women who have led the way since 1869.
• Renovate the interior of the house for another 25 years of use.
The courtyard renovation was made possible by Dave Walrath in memory of Christel Walrath, Guthrie Family Foundation, Germaine St. John Bequest, Downtown Laramie Facade Grant, Rocky Mountain Power Foundation, Laramie Rivers Conservation District, Laramie Beautification Committee, Julia Van Oss, Kim Viner, JoNey Wilmot, Prairie Equipment, HomeBase and Laramie Garden Club.
Contributions to the Louisa Swain Foundation may be made by check to P.O. Box 1960, Laramie, WY 82073, or online at wyomingwomenshistoryhouse.org.
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