Doña Dolores "Lola" Chávez de Armijo

Territorial Governor George Curry appointed her state librarian in 1909. When statehood brought Governor William McDonald in 1912, he tried to replace her, a Republican, with a Democrat, Mary Victory; a Senate committee voted the change down, and McDonald went to court arguing that a woman could not hold office. The district court found for Chávez de Armijo, and on appeal the Supreme Court did too, in State v. De Armijo, decided in 1914. House Bill 150, passed in 1913, let women hold appointed office. She served until 1917.

What the plaque says

Official Scenic Historic Marker Doña Dolores "Lola" Chávez de Armijo (1858-1929) In 1912, State Librarian Lola Chávez de Armijo filed a gender discrimination law suit after the governor sought to replace her by court order, claiming that as a woman, she was unqualified to hold office under the constitution and laws of New Mexico. The New Mexico Supreme Court ruled in her favor and legislation followed, thereafter allowing women to hold appointed office.

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Petroglyph National Monument — 14 mi
  Some 24,000 images pecked into the dark basalt of Albuquerque's West Mesa, protected in 1990 and then crossed by a city boulevard.

More markers nearby

• Doña Elena Gallegos / Elena Gallegos Land Grant — 3.6 mi
• Alameda — 5.4 mi
• Corrales — 6.1 mi
• Iglesia de San Ysidro — 6.1 mi