Grace Raymond Hebard

Who was Grace Raymond Hebard?

Grace Raymond Hebard gained prominence as a Wyoming historian, suffragist, pioneering scholar, prolific writer, political economist and noted University of Wyoming educator. Hebard's standing as a historian in part rose from her years trekking Wyoming's high plains and mountains seeking first-hand accounts of Wyoming's early pioneers. Today her books on Wyoming history are sometimes challenged due to Hebard's tendency to romanticize the Old West, spurring questions regarding accuracy of her research findings. In particular, her conclusion after decades of field research that Sacajawea was buried in Wyoming's Wind River Indian Reservation is called into question.

Yet Hebard didn't let critics limit her. She served as the first female on the University of Wyoming Board of Trustees, where she exercised authority over the university finances, its president, and faculty. Her University of Wyoming role extended to establishing the university's first library. Moreover, Hebard served as a professor for 28 years. Hebard also broke new ground when she became the first woman admitted to the Wyoming State Bar Association; admitted to practice before the Wyoming Supreme Court; and appointed by her peers as vice president of the National Society of Women Lawyers.