County of house: Sumner County
Location of house: W. Garfield St & S. Osage St., Argonia
Built: 1884
The Person:
"Soon after Kansas women gained the right to vote in municipal elections, voters elected a woman as mayor of Argonia. Susanna Madora Salter was elected the first woman mayor in the United States.
"Born March 2, 1860, in Belmont County, Ohio, Susanna Madora Kinsey moved to a Kansas farm with her parents in 1872. Eight years later, while attending the Kansas State Agricultural College, she met and married Lewis Salter. The couple soon moved to Argonia where she cared for their young children and became an officer in the local Woman's Christian Temperance Union.
"Nominated on the Prohibition Party ticket by several Argonia men as a joke, Salter surprised the group and received two-thirds of the votes. She was elected in April 4, 1887, just weeks after Kansas women had gained the right to vote in city elections. The 27-year-old woman knew more about politics than her detractors realized. She was the daughter of the town's first mayor. Her father-in-law, Melville J. Salter, was a former Kansas lieutenant governor.
"Although she apparently performed her job well, Salter never sought another elected office. Within a few years, the Salters moved to Oklahoma where the nation's first woman mayor died in 1961 at the age of 101." ~ Kansas Hisorical Society
"Born in 1860 in Ohio, Susanna Sater moved with her parents to a farm in Kansas. While attending college, she married Lewis Salter and moved to Argonia. Her parents also moved to the area and built a two-story brick house for her and her husband. Her father, Oliver Kinsey, fired the bricks in his own kiln. The house was finished in 1885.
"Passionate about civic life, Salter joined a chapter of the Woman’s Christian Temperance Union (WTCU). Shortly after Salter became civically engaged in her community, the state of Kansas recognized a woman’s right to vote in local elections. While Kansas women were not permitted to participate in national elections, they were able to vote for town officials for the first time in 1887. That April, the town of Argonia, Kansas elected Salter the first woman mayor in the United States. She did not realize her name was on the ballot until the morning of the election! She lived at 220 West Garfield while she served as mayor." ~ National Park Service
In 1933 a bronze plaque, given by the Woman's Kansas Day Club, was unveiled in Argonia in honor of the "First Woman Mayor in the United States." Mrs. Salter was the guest of honor for the ceremony. The plaque was mounted and placed in front of the old township hall. Later it was moved and placed in front of the museum.
In Honor
of
MRS. SUSANNA MADORA SALTER,
First Woman Mayor in the
United States.
She served as Mayor of Argonia, Kansas
1887.
Born March 2, 1860.
The Place:
Plaques at the site:
Salter Home MUSEUM
1887
Sasanna Madora Salter
America's First Woman Mayor
Argonia
SALTER HOUSE
Argonia, Kansas
circa 1884
Has been placed on the
NATIONAL REGISTER
HISTORIC PLACES
By the United States
Department of the Interior
Home of Susanna Madora Salter
The First Elected Woman Mayor
In the United States.
[Ed. Note:
Susanna Madora Salter was a member of the Women's Christian Temperance Union (WCTU) and a young mother of 27 years when she was elected the first woman mayor in the United States. Her home, now the Salter House Museum, was built in 1884 by Mrs. Salter's father, Oliver Kinsey, Argonia's first mayor, with bricks fabricated on site. The two-story red-brick house has seven gables and nine rooms. A frame lean-to was added at one time to the northwest corner.
In 1933 a bronze plaque, given by the Woman's Kansas Day Club, was unveiled in Argonia in honor of the "First Woman Mayor in the United States." Mrs. Salter was the guest of honor for the ceremony. The plaque was mounted and placed in front of the old township hall. Later it was moved and placed in front of the museum.
In 1963 the Salter House Museum was opened to the public. The home has been restored with furnishings of that time period. A second building, formerly the First Baptist Church of Mayfield, Kansas, was moved north of the house in 1967. This building now houses an interesting collection of historical articles. The Salter House was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in September 1971. 1984 saw an exterior renovation of the Salter House. The work was funded by Argonia's Historical Society, friends in the community and a federal grant.
Located on the corner of Osage & Garfield in Argonia, the Salter House is open to the public by appointment. Contact Mary Beth Bookless or the City of Argonia to make arrangements.