lewis-2012-marking-america-s-progress-in-the-west-grace-raymond-hebard-s-domestication-of-wyoming-women-s-rights-and

Date and Event:
- On July 1, 1911, about fifty Wyoming citizens gathered in Laramie, Wyoming, to honor early pioneers of the Oregon Trail.
- The ceremony included unveiling a granite monument at a commemoration service with religious, patriotic, and historical exercises.
Role of Grace Raymond Hebard:
- Grace Raymond Hebard (1861-1936) was a significant Western historian, booster, and suffragist.
- Between 1913 and 1920, she marked the Oregon Trail across Wyoming, placing various monuments in collaboration with the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) and the Wyoming Oregon Trail Commission (WOTC).
- Her ceremonies included marking trails, forts, battle sites, and pioneer graves, highlighting women’s political participation.
Cultural Context:
- The event was part of the broader discursive effort to construct the perception of the American West, focusing on the selected historical aspects that justified European American settlement.
- As participants in this construction, colonists needed a "usable past" to legitimize their presence in the West.

Alternative View of the West:
- Scholarship often focuses on influential figures like Owen Wister and Frederic Remington, but many Wyoming citizens saw their identity differently.
- Majority resisted the “Cowboy State” identity and promoted an image of Wyoming as settled and civilized.
- Wister and Remington’s depictions of Wyoming as the “Wild West” contrasted with the citizens’ desire for a progressive narrative.
Challenges to the “Cowboy” Image:
- The celebrated cowboy image served socio-economic interests of Eastern elites who profited from an unsettled West.
- Early settlers wanted to show that Wyoming had cultivated, farmable land, and they desired recognition as equivalent to the East rather than being seen as primitive.

Hebard's Rhetoric:
- Analyzed Hebard’s trail-marking rhetoric to complicate the meaning of Wyoming and the West.
- Her efforts were part of community memory practices used to construct identities and places of significance.
- Trail-marking efforts conveyed a sense of domesticity, linking heroes of the West to female and agrarian myths of civilization.
Local Memory and Identity:
- Studying local and everyday forms of memory, like those of Hebard, reveals insights into how Westerners shaped their identity and politics.
- Memory practices of settlers contributed to a broader national memory of the West.

Trail Marking Tradition:
- Hebard's work with trail commissions and pioneer associations was rooted in a tradition of remembering experiences of Western settlers.
- The DAR also memorialized trails to combine patriotism with the celebration of pioneering experiences.
Hebard's Contributions:
- Well-acquainted with historical practices, Hebard led efforts as a prominent historian and patriotic figure in Wyoming.
- Her commemorative actions created physical symbols reflecting Wyoming's values and narrative of civilization.

Civilizing Symbols:
- Hebard highlighted three important symbols of progress and civilization: railroad, Christianity, and women's presence in the settlement of Wyoming.
Technological Progress:
- Hebard noted railroads as symbols of modernity and progress. She claimed the railroad advanced the region from a primitive past to a hub of efficiency and civilization.

Religious Influence:
- Emphasized the importance of Christian missionaries in bringing civilization to Wyoming, marking their contributions as validation of the state's civilized status.
Role of Women and Children:
- Highlighted women’s roles in domesticating the land and fostering civilization, opposing negative depictions often found in Eastern narratives.

Domesticating Women’s Rights:
- Celebrated women’s suffrage in Wyoming as proof of modernity and a contrast to prevailing societal norms about women.
- Promoted women’s political involvement while framing it within traditional gender roles to emphasize Wyoming's progress.

Naturalization of Violence:
- Hebard rationalized racial conflicts with American Indians, presenting violence as a necessary component in achieving civilization in the West.
- Portrayed conflicts not merely as acts of aggression but as inevitable aspects of frontier life that led to progress.

Identifying True Heroes:
- Resisted the cowboy mythology by honoring the struggles of home-builders and pioneers who cultivated the land.
- Recognized pioneers for overcoming hardships and shaping the identity and development of the American West.

Impact of Commemoration:
- Hebard's efforts contributed to a redefined narrative of Wyoming as a settled, civilized, and progressive state.
- The “Wild West” image persisted, but Hebard's work laid the foundation for locals to navigate their historical identity.
- The commemoration practices continue to reflect broader cultural conflicts around western identity and the memory of expansion.