In the heart of Estes Park town, the base of the Rocky Mountain National Park stands the Women’s Heritage Plaza, which is the home to Estes Park Women’s Monument, which celebrates and honors 12 historical and current women from the Estes Park community who have left their mark on the town and the Rocky Mountain area. Estes Park Women’s Monument Committee fundraised $100,000 and chose the renowned Colorado sculptress Jane DeDecker to design and create the monument. By sculpting pioneering women, DeDecker wishes to perpetuate their legacy and bring their stories to the public attention. The monument was dedicated on September 30th, 2021, and sits in a park-like setting along the Riverwalk in downtown Estes Park, near the playground. The interactive and educational monument commemorates the following women (presented here alphabetically): Alberta Sprague (1867-1949) and her family were among the first settlers of Estes Park who had funded and operated hotels in Moraine Park. Alberta was president of the Estes Park Woman’s Club (1926-27). Her husband, Abner, mapped the area in the 1890s and named the Alberta Falls in Rocky Mountain National Park after her. Enda Mills (1919-2009) was born, raised, and lived in Estes Park. Her social-political and environmental activism and love of nature were central to her life. Eleanor E. Hondius (1880-1968) managed Elkhorn Lodge for 18 years. She was a founding member of the Estes Park Woman’s Club, which helped establish the town’s first library in 1922. Her love of hiking drove her to support the conservation efforts in the Rocky Mountain region and the establishment of trails and roads in the area. “Eleanor Hondius Deer Mountain Trail” is named in her honor. Flora Stanley (1847-1939) was an educator, social activist, suffragist, and an active member of the Woman’s Club, which promoted trail building, the fish hatchery, and the town’s first library. Isabella Bird (1831-1904) was one of the first women explorers in the world. Among the many books she wrote about her adventures was A Lady’s Life in the Rocky Mountains (1879) which brought many visitors to Estes Park and the Rockies. Bird was the first woman elected to Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society. Jean Weaver (1928-2017) climbed Longs Peak twelve times along with all 13,000+ feet peaks in Rocky Mountain National Park. She advocated for local women to be active in the outdoors through skiing and hiking. In 1985, on behalf of her environmental work, she won multiple awards for establishing a successful and novel recycling program in Colorado. Jessica Chapin Macdonald (1874-1957) operated 1907-1928 the town’s general store and then the Macdonald Book Shop, which is still open today. Josephine (Josie) Hupp (1857-1932) was the successful owner of four of Estes Park’s downtown hotels and cafes. She also managed Estes Park’s post office from 1907-1914. Margaret Fuller Boos (1892-1978) was the first female ranger-naturalist at Rocky Mountain National Park (1928-29). She helped establish the Geology Department at the University of Denver and established scholarships for women students. Neinoo Biiti’owu’ Singing in Water represents the Native American women who lived harmonically with nature and preserved and protected the land for many generations. Olga Ortega (b. 1973) is a founding member of “Estes Park Gives Back” and supports local families in need. She helped implement the annual Cinco de Mayo celebrations in town. Wendy Koenig (b. 1955) was born and raised in Estes Park. She was a middle-distance runner who competed in the 800 meters at the 1972 and 1976 Summer Olympics. Since 2020, she has served as the Mayor of Estes Park. Read more...

In September 2021, Temple Grandin made history again when her sculpture was dedicated at Colorado State University as the first one to honor a woman on the campus and one of the few in the world to honor an autistic woman. Temple Grandin is a professor of animal sciences at Colorado State University, animal behavior expert, innovator, livestock industry consultant, author, and autism activist. Grandin was born in 1947 and grew up in a wealthy family in Boston, Massachusetts, the oldest of four children. Her mother, Anna, noticed Grandin’s slow behavior development and consulted doctors who diagnosed Grandin with “brain damage” caused by an insufficient bond with her mother. Anna refused to institutionalize Grandin and supported her with a speech therapist and governess. After several years Grandin started attending school with some support and accommodations. Her adolescent years were challenging due to her parents’ divorce and social challenges at school. At 14, she started attending a boarding school in New Hampshire. The small farm they had was her first encounter with agriculture. A year later, she spent the summer on her aunt’s ranch in Arizona and fell in love with the culture of the West and cattle. After graduating high school in 1966, Grandin earned her bachelor’s degree in human psychology from Franklin Pierce College (1970), master’s degree in animal science from Arizona State University (1975), and doctoral degree in animal science from the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign (1989). Then, she became faculty in Colorado State University, teaching, researching, and inspiring students. Since the 70s, she has worked as a consultant in the meat and livestock industry, saying that at the beginning, it was harder to prove herself as a woman than an autistic person. Grandin published several books about autism, writing about her experience and recommending methods that helped her. She is a public speaker about the subject and an advocate for autism rights. CSU alumnus Jeff Tovar commissioned the life-size bronze sculpture, and the artist David Anderson created it depicting Grandin sitting on the ground and looking at the horizon. Read more...