Last updated: November 13, 2018
Place
Susanna Salter House
Slater House.
Quick Facts
Location:
220 West Garfield Street, Argonia, Kansas
Significance:
Home of the first woman mayor in the US
Designation:
National Register of Historic Places
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.
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.