Press Release

Forging Opportunity Out of Scarcity: Exhibition Exploring Women’s Willpower Comes to Center for Colorado Women’s History

Exhibition uncovers the stories of seven influential Colorado women who took fate into their hands and defined their realities

DENVER — March 20, 2025 — Starting April 4 visitors to the Center for Colorado Women’s History will be invited on an exploration of women’s resolve in the museum’s upcoming exhibition: Ms. Destiny. Using historical accounts – as well as a mixture of personal artifacts, private correspondence and artist renditions where available – Ms. Destiny uncovers the stories of seven influential Colorado women who took fate into their hands, overcame barriers, and defined their realities.

 

PRESS CONTACT:
Luke Perkins, Manager of Communications and Public Relations
303.866.3670 | luke.perkins@state.co.us

“At the Center for Colorado Women’s History we continue to advance our presentation of the inspirational accomplishments of women throughout Colorado’s past,” said Susan Fries, deputy community museums officer and director of the Center for Colorado Women’s History. “In Ms. Destiny we are exploring the formidable perseverance of women and how we craft the lives we want despite the hurdles in our way.”

Among the women highlighted in Ms. Destiny are:

  • The beautiful and alluring Elizabeth “Baby Doe” Tabor, who married a wealthy silver baron and, following the silver crash of 1893, became known as the “mad-woman” of Leadville
  • The resilient and diplomatic Chipeta (Kiowa Apache/Uncompahgre Ute), who spent two decades advocating for peace in the face of Anglo-European expansion into Ute homelands
  • The perseverant and stylish Katherine McHale Slaughterback — better known as “Rattlesnake Kate” — who utilized her versatile skill-set and spirited nature to challenge social expectations
  • And the valiant and determined Cathay Williams, who cut her hair short, took a man's name, and became the only woman to serve in the all Black Buffalo Soldier regiments

“By including women from different time periods and backgrounds we are able to represent the scope of challenges and obstacles Colorado women have overcome,” Fries said. “We hope that within the multifaceted and intersectional stories of these women visitors will see themselves and ask ‘what would I do to control my destiny?’” 

Included in the remarkable artifacts displayed in Ms. Destiny is perhaps the most requested object in History Colorado’s Collection: “Baby Doe” Tabor’s wedding dress.

Created in 1883 for a queenly-sum of $7,000 — nearly $250,000 today — this dress was one of the few traces of opulence that “Baby Doe” was able to keep following her and her husband's catastrophic fall for wealth. Off display for more than fifteen years, “Baby Doe’s” dress was carefully restored for inclusion in Ms. Destiny. It will be at center stage alongside a number of rarely, or never before, displayed objects related to Colorado women’s history.

“It is one thing to hear the stories that represent the lives and work of remarkable women in Colorado’s past and present. In this exhibit we also see artifacts which bore witness to the fortitude, ingenuity, and unwavering spirit of these women,” Fries said.

Ms. Destiny opens at the Center for Colorado Women’s History on April 4, 2025. The Center for Colorado Women’s History is located at 1310 Bannock Street, Denver, CO, and is open Monday through Saturday, 10 a.m. – 4 p.m., and Sundays from 12 p.m. – 4 p.m. General admission for kids 18 and under is free every day.

Members of the media interested in an early look at Ms. Destiny should contact Luke Perkins, Manager of Communications and Public Relations, at (303) 866-3670 or luke.perkins@state.co.us.

About Center for Colorado Women’s History
The Center for Colorado Women’s History is the first state museum focused on the past, present and future achievements of Colorado women. The Center focuses on scholarship, research, public programs, narrative, lectures, and exhibitions that expand the understanding and collective memory of the history of women in Colorado. The Center for Colorado Women’s History is a museum of History Colorado.

The museum is located at 1310 Bannock Street, Denver and is open Monday through Saturday, 10 a.m. – 4 p.m., and Sundays from 12 p.m. – 4 p.m. For more information, visit www.cowomenshistory.org or call 303-620-4933.

About History Colorado
History Colorado is a division of the Colorado Department of Higher Education and a 501(c)3 non-profit that has served more than 75,000 students and 500,000 people in Colorado each year. It is a 146-year-old institution that operates eleven museums and historic sites, a free public research center, the Office of Archaeology and Historic Preservation which provides technical assistance, educational opportunities, and other access to archaeology and historic preservation, and the History Colorado State Historical Fund (SHF), which is one of the nation’s largest state funded preservation programs of its kind. More than 70% of SHF grants are allocated in rural areas of the state. Additionally, the offices of the State Archaeologist and the State Historic Preservation Officer are part of History Colorado. 

History Colorado’s mission is to create a better future for Colorado by inspiring wonder in our past. We serve as the state’s memory, preserving and sharing the places, stories, and material culture of Colorado through educational programs, historic preservation grants, collecting, outreach to Colorado communities, the History Colorado Center and Stephen H. Hart Research Center in Denver, and 10 other museums and historic attractions statewide. History Colorado is one of only six Smithsonian Affiliates in Colorado. Visit HistoryColorado.org, or call 303-HISTORY, for more information. #HistoryColorado