Discover the untold stories of women homesteaders Saturday at the Trails Center
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CASPER, Wyo. – Discover the untold story of women homesteaders at the National Historic Trails Interpretive Center this Saturday with award-winning author, Marcia M. Hensley.
At 1 p.m. on October 16, Hensley will present the stories of young women who set out to homestead the West in the early 1900s. Her work reveals how the real experiences of women homesteaders challenges the stereotype often portrayed in popular movies and books of women as reluctant and ever-suffering wives dragged west by their adventure-seeking husbands. Learn more about these self-reliant women who labored to establish homes in the West and found joy in the endeavor.
Hensley is the author of the award-winning book, Staking Her Claim: Women Homesteading in the West, and is a retired professor of literature and writing at Western Wyoming Community College. Now living in Colorado, Hensley writes of her time in Wyoming.
“For over thirty years I lived with my husband close to the Oregon Trail on ground homesteaded by the first settlers in the Eden Valley and in the home they built over 100 years ago,” says Hensley. “Surrounded by reminders of the Oregon Trail and memories of pioneers, surrounded by the Wind River Mountains and the high deserts they knew, I found my voice as a writer and my heart’s home.”
For more information, please call 307-261-7700.
The National Historic Trails Interpretive Center is open 7 days a week from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm MST.
1501 N Poplar St., Casper, WY 82601.
Admission is Free
The BLM manages more than 245 million acres of public land located primarily in 12 western states, including Alaska, on behalf of the American people. The BLM also administers 700 million acres of sub-surface mineral estate throughout the nation. Our mission is to sustain the health, diversity, and productivity of America’s public lands for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations.