SOLD OUT - Ruth Banning Lewis: Businesswoman, Politician, Rancher

LOCATION & PARKING

Penrose Library (20 N Cascade Ave, Colorado Springs, CO, 80903) in meeting room Columbine A.

Penrose paid parking is through parking kiosks in both the upper and lower lots that accept credit card and coin payment. Learn more about location and parking options: https://ppld.org/penrose-library

ABOUT THE PROGRAM

Ruth Banning Lewis was, in her time, one of the luminaries of Colorado Springs.

A successful businesswoman turned competitive Hereford breeder turned politician, Banning Lewis broke barriers in the region. But despite her importance to local history, and despite today’s interest in revisiting the forgotten contributions of women, there are no definitive accounts yet written on Ruth Banning Lewis.

This presentation will argue that Ruth Banning Lewis and her robust collections in the PPLD archives warrant similar attention to other historical figures from the Pikes Peak Region.

It will also highlight Banning Lewis’s uncommon confluence of feminist and capitalist ideologies, which echoes today in the enormous Banning Lewis Ranch that bears her name.

ABOUT THE PRESENTER 

John Jarrell is the Regional History & Genealogy Program Coordinator at Pikes Peak Library District (PPLD).

He earned an M.A. in American History from East Carolina University with a focus in political and social history.

John moved to Colorado Springs in 2013 and has been involved in community organizing throughout his residence in the city.

Please note that due to our HVAC project and the temporary closure of the 1903 El Paso County Courthouse, this lecture will be held at the Penrose Library in meeting room Columbine A.