The Esther Hobart Morris Statue by Avard Fairbanks was erected in Cheyenne, Wyoming in 1963.
The first victory for women’s suffrage in the United States occurred in the Territory of Wyoming. When it was added as a state, Wyoming was the first state to enfranchise women. Esther Morris, who had heard Susan B. Anthony lecture prior to moving to Wyoming, became a force behind the effort and lobbied for the vote. Esther Hobart Morris was appointed a Justice of the Peace, the first woman to serve in this role in the United States. She served 8 1/2 months and heard 26 cases, 12 criminal and 14 civil (mainly involving assault and battery and small debts).
The statue, a replica of one located in Statuary Hall in Washington, D. C. is a tribute to a Wyoming woman who played a role in the Woman Suffrage movement during the end of the 19th century. Engraved on the base is “Esther Hobart Morris. Proponent of the Legislative Act in 1869 which Gave Distinction to the Territory of Wyoming as the 1st Government of the World to Grant Woman Equal Rights.”
