Louisa Swain votes in Laramie, first legal female vote in the US since 1807

Legislative Context. Wyoming's first territorial legislature, composed entirely of men, passed a bill in 1869 granting women the right to vote and hold office. This legislation, titled An Act to Grant to the Women of Wyoming Territory the Right of Suffrage, and to Hold Office, established the legal framework for women's political participation. The territory retained this law despite potential risks to its application for statehood, setting the stage for the 1870 elections.

Laramie Development. Laramie was settled by European Americans in 1868 following the completion of the Union Pacific Railroad. The town grew rapidly, with entrepreneurs building permanent structures by May 1868. As the first town in Wyoming to hold a municipal election, Laramie became the site for the first legal female vote in a general election in the United States since 1807, occurring seven months after the territorial suffrage act took effect.

Louisa Swain. Louisa Ann Swain, born in 1801, moved to Laramie in 1869 to join her son Alfred. She had previously lived in Baltimore, where she married Stephen Swain. Swain cast her ballot on September 6, 1870, becoming the first woman in the United States to vote in a general election after the repeal of women's suffrage in New Jersey in 1807.