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The Gracie Pfost
A Guide to her papers and
memorabilia
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 Gracie Pfost in 1954, Photo 54019 |
Biographical Sketch
Gracie Bowers Pfost, the first woman elected to Congress from Idaho, was born in Arkansas in 1906 and moved with her family to a farm in the Boise Valley in 1911. She attended Idaho public schools and graduated from Links Business College in Boise. In 1923 she married John (Jack) Pfost. They pronounced their last name Post, with the "f" silent. After working as a chemist for a few years, she served as deputy clerk, auditor, and recorder for Canyon County, Idaho. Later, she opened her own real estate office. Pfost participated in numerous civic organizations, including the Business and Professional Women's Club and the Soroptimist Club. She was a delegate to the Democratic National Convention in 1944, and to every succeeding national convention through 1960.
In 1940 Pfost was elected treasurer of Canyon County, Idaho. She held that position for 10 years. In 1950 she sought the seat for Idaho's First Congressional District. She lost in a close race to her opponent, Dr. John T. Wood. Not one to accept defeat, she ran again for the same seat in 1952. This time she defeated Wood. She was reelected in 1954 and again in 1956, 1958, and 1960.
While in Congress, Pfost served on the Public Works and the Interior and Insular Affairs committees. She was chairman of the Subcommittee on Public Lands. She was the chief sponsor of a bill to authorize federal construction of a high dam at Idaho's Hells Canyon, which earned her the nickname "Hell's Belle." She also worked to improve retirement benefits for civil service employees, protect the lead and zinc mining industries, and protect the agricultural sector.
In 1962, Pfost ran for the U.S. Senate, but lost to Republican Len B. Jordan. In 1963 President Kennedy appointed her as Special Assistant for Elderly Housing in the Federal Housing Administration. She served in that capacity until her death in 1965 from Hodgkin's Disease.
Sources:
Aiken, Katherine G. "Gender and the Congressional Career of Idaho's Gracie Pfost." Journal of the West 42 (2003), 44-51.
Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1776-1989. Washington D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1989.
The Collection
The Gracie Pfost collection at Boise State University consists chiefly of memorabilia from Pfost's political career in Canyon County, Congress, and the Federal Housing Administration. The papers include clippings, photos, invitations, tickets, programs, campaign literature, and the like. The collection also includes copies of several speeches before Congress, press releases, and pieces of legislation Pfost sponsored. The most notable of these are items centered on the Hells Canyon Bill, for which Pfost was the principal sponsor. Featured items also include a program from the 1945 Inaugural Dinner for President Franklin D. Roosevelt (autographed by Bob Hope and other entertainment figures), photos with President Eisenhower and Speaker of the House Sam Rayburn, and a telegram from President Kennedy congratulating her on her distinguished career as a Member of Congress.
A selection of sample documents and photos from the collection are mounted online on the Gracie Pfost Gallery.
This memorabilia was donated to Boise State University by Pfost's sister, Pearl Mabe, of Nampa, Idaho, in 1998. Gracie Pfost's official congressional papers are located in the University of Idaho Library in Moscow, Idaho.
Collection number: MSS 175
Inclusive
dates: 1936-1973
Collection
size: ca. 2 ft.
Processed by: Olivia Umphrey, 2007
Box and Folder List
Series I: Memorabilia
Box 1: Memorabilia
Folder 1 1939-1949 Canyon County Treasurer
2 1943 Idaho Business Women Newsletter
3 1943 Clippings
4 1944 Democratic National Convention
(Chicago)
5 1944 Clippings
6 1945 1000 Club Dinner Booklet
7 1945 Presidential Inauguration Material
(Roosevelt)
8 1948 Clippings
9 1949 Democratic Digest
10 1949 Clippings
11 1950 Congressional Campaign
12 1950 Correspondence
13 1950 Miscellaneous
14 1951 Clippings
15 1952 Congressional Campaigns
16 1952-? Congressional Campaigns Multiple Years
17 1953 Presidential Inauguration Material
(Eisenhower)
18 1953 National Federation of Business and
Professional Women's Clubs Luncheon
19 1953 Clippings
20 1953-55 Congressional Voting Records
21 1954 Congressional Campaign
22 1954 Hells Canyon Dam
23 1954 Miscellaneous
24 1954 Speeches and Floor Remarks
25 1954 Clippings
26 1955 Hells Canyon Dam Bill
27 1955 Miscellaneous
28 1955 Report to the People
29 1955 Speeches and Floor Remarks
30 1955 Clippings
31 1956 Congressional Campaign
32 1956 Democratic National Convention
(Chicago)
33 1956 Miscellaneous
34 1956 Report to the People
35 1956 Clippings
36 1957 Articles
37 1957 Invitations
38 1957 Press Release
39 1957 Report On Civil Service Retirement
Annuity Increases
40 1957 Report to the People
41 1957 Clippings
42 1958 Articles
43 1958 Brussels, Belgium Trip
44 1958 Congressional Campaign
45 1958 Congressional Committee Reports
w/Accompanying Letter
46 1958 Congressional Records and Public Acts
47 1958 Correspondence
48 1958 Florida Trip
49 1958 Invitations
50 1958 Press Release
51 1958 Clippings
52 1959 Articles
53 1959 Correspondence
54 1959 Invitations
55 1959 Miscellaneous
56 1959 Press Releases
57 1959 TV Spot Script
58 1959 Speech, Virgin Islands
59 1959 Clippings
60 1960 Biographical Sketch
61 1960 Congressional Campaign
62 1960 Correspondence
63 1960 Democratic National Convention (Los
Angeles)
64 1960 Invitations
65 1960 Press Releases
66 1960 Speeches and Floor Remarks
67 1960 Clippings
68 1961 Articles
69 1961 Congressional Voting Record
70 1961 Correspondence
71 1961 Presidential Inauguration Material
(Kennedy)
72 1961 Invitations
73 1961 Miscellaneous
74 1961 Press Releases
75 1961 Speeches and Floor Remarks
76 1961 Clippings
77 1961-1963 Correspondence re: Books Gracie Sent to
Libraries/Schools
78 1962 Capitol Hill Comment
79 1962 Correspondence
Box 2: Memorabilia
Folder 1 1962 Inaugural
Anniversary Dinner
2 1962 Invitations
3 1962 J.F.K.'s Remarks for Gracie Pfost
Testimonial Dinner
4 1962 Miscellaneous
5 1962 Press Releases
6 1962 Senate Campaign
7 1962 Speeches and Floor Remarks
8 1962 Women of the 87th Congress
Publications
9 1962 Clippings
10 1963 Certificates & Citations
11 1963 Correspondence
12 1963 Federal Housing Administration
13 1963 Federal Housing Administration Review
(FHA Newsletter)
14 1963 Inaugural Anniversary Salute Pamphlet
15 1963 Miscellaneous
16 1963 Clippings
17 1964 Aging & Social Policy from the White
House Conference on Aging
18 1964 Biographies
19 1964 Correspondence
20 1964 Invitations
21 1964 Memorabilia
22 1964 Notes (Handwritten)
23 1964 Press Releases
24 1964 What's New in Housing the Elderly?
Booklet
25 1964 Clippings
26 1965 Calendar/Appointments
27 1965-1973 Obituaries/Memorials
Series II:
Photos
For samples of some of the photos, see the
Gracie Pfost Gallery
Box 3: Photos
Folder 1 1941
2 1950
3 1952
4 1953
5 1954
6 1954 Hawaii Photos
7 1955
8 1956
9 1957
10 1958
11 1958 Grace Mine Photos
12 1958 Florida Photos
13 1958 Brussels, Belgium Photos
14 1958 National Onion Association Photos
15
1959
16 1959 Yellowstone Earthquake Photos
17 1960
18 1961
19 1962 Photos, smaller than 6x9
20 1962 Photos, larger than 6x9
21 1963
22 1964
Oversize Drawer:
Poster, Canyon
County Democratic Ticket (with photos), 1936
Poster, Canyon County Democratic
Ticket (with photos), 1940
Poster, Canyon County Democratic
Ticket (with photos), 1942
Poster, Canyon County Democratic
Ticket (with photos), 1944
Chart, Idaho Legislative and County
Officials, 1947-1948 (Caxton Printers)