The Jackson Hole Historical Society and Museum reopens for the Winter season on Wednesday, December 11.  This winter, we will host two new exhibits related to women’s history in the West.

The first upcoming exhibit in the museum’s main gallery space will feature notable women writers of early 20th century in Wyoming. Narrative writing about the state — certainly, the Tetons — is sparse before 1950, and published works are few and far between in comparison to the rest of the American West. Women’s words are even harder to come by, but provide important insight into the changing nature of the region.

This exhibit will explore the story of the landscape, the wildlife, and the people of Jackson Hole and Wyoming through women’s words.

“It’s exciting to explore how the rest of the country was able to encounter our state and this valley through books by women,” said Christy Smirl, a private librarian for Foxtail Books Library Services. “These were popular books in their own era, and deserve a second look for the way they represented our mountain home.”

Curated in collaboration with Smirl, the multi-media exhibit will be open to the public in early December.

The museum will also install a traveling exhibit in January from the University of Wyoming’s American Heritage Center titled “Wyoming Women.” The exhibit includes 30 framed historic photographs of Wyoming women throughout history, specifically highlighting the leadership roles they pursued in their family, in the outdoors and in their community.

Both exhibits will be open to the public through March 2020.