Jessie Fenton Fitzgerald

Jessie Fenton Fitzgerald at Valles Caldera National Preserve, 2012.

NPS/Valles Caldera Trust

Quick Facts

Significance:

Trailblazing Woman

Place of Birth:

Albuquerque, NM

Date of Birth:

1930

Place of Death:

Albuquerque, NM

Date of Death:

2013

“Daddy hired Richard Fitzgerald in order to have Jessie. She was one of best horsemen in world.” – Mary Ann Bond Bunten

In the mid-1900s, when gender roles in the American workforce were clearly divided, cattle ranching was a career overwhelmingly dominated by men. At northern New Mexico’s Baca Ranch (which is now part of Valles Caldera National Preserve), owner Franklin Bond sought a ranch foreman to oversee and manage daily operations. According to his daughter, Mary Ann, Mr. Bond hired Richard Fitzgerald as a workaround for what would have been a deviation from gender norms at the time—hiring a woman. The person Mr. Bond really wanted for the job? Richard’s wife, Jessie Fenton Fitzgerald.

Jessie Fenton Fitzgerald is an unparalleled superstar in the history of Valles Caldera. She lived and worked at the Baca Ranch for several summers, but when she divorced Richard and struck out on her own, she found it difficult to get a job doing what she loved. Despite her previous ranching experience and superior equine skills, local employers were unwilling to hire Jessie for agricultural jobs. Nevertheless, she demonstrated unshakable determination in creating a name and reputation for herself.

Jessie volunteered much of her time managing 4-H youth programs across the Jemez Mountains, where she realized that her dream was to become a county agricultural extension agent. Perhaps by a stroke of luck in having a gender-neutral name, Jessie was admitted to New Mexico State University to study Agricultural and Extension Education, where she exceled. Immediately following graduation in 1970, Jessie achieved her dream of becoming a county agricultural extension agent—the first female to serve in this role in United States history.

Learn more about Jessie: Jessie Fitzgerald | New Mexico State University - BE BOLD. Shape the Future. (nmsu.edu)