Leila Jesse Frazier Rides Horse near Woodburn Hall, West Virginia University
Date:
ca. 1905
Description:
Leila Jesse Frazier, of Upper Norword in Surrey, England and an 1899 graduate of the WVU Law School, rides 'man fashion' or astride, near Woodburn Hall. A contemporaneous newspaper account depicts Frazier’s journey to Morgantown to begin her law studies, indicating that she put her husband, James C. Frazier, on the train in Martinsburg, and set off unaccompanied on horseback across the mountains. She arrived several days later,wearing a black riding habit with a divided skirt, riding ';man fashion', carrying a brace of revolvers, and 'armed with a most remarkable amount of courage and daring'. Frazier was president of the Woman’s League of WVU, the first women’s organization on campus. Information from Becky Lofstead, 'Trailblazers at the College of Law' in WVU Alumni Magazine, Winter 2000, p.18.
