Theodosia Ammons
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Theodosia Ammons
This portrait of Theodosia Ammons was taken in 1906 while she was Dean of Women and Professor of Domestic Economy at Colorado State University.
Chronology of Early Women in Fort Collins, Colorado
A timeline showing a glimpse of Theodosia Ammons's suffrage activities in relation to other historically important women and dates from the progression of women's rights in Colorado.
Theodosia Ammons (1862–1907) worked extensively throughout her life to advance the cause of women’s suffrage. She became president of the Colorado Equal Suffrage Association and was cofounder of the department of domestic economy at Colorado Agricultural College (now Colorado State University), where Ammons served as the school’s first female faculty member and first female dean.
Early Life
Theodosia Grace Ammons was born in Macon, North Carolina, in 1862. Her father, Jehu Richard Ammons, was a minister at a local Baptist church and involved her in church-related activities from an early age. Ammons’s brother Elias later served as the nineteenth governor of Colorado from 1913 to 1915, while her nephew Teller served as the state’s twenty-eighth governor from 1937 to 1939.
In 1871, when Theodosia was nine years old, Ammons’s father moved the family to Denver for job opportunities in the expanding mining and timber industries. She graduated from Denver High School in 1883 but did not attend college, for financial reasons. Instead, like many women at the time, she went into teaching, in her case at the same high school from which she had just graduated.
Career
Ammons consistently worked to advance women’s suffrage in Colorado. With the help of fellow suffragist Eliza Routt, she developed a related interest in women’s education and began the promotion of domestic science in Colorado schools. In 1895 Ammons and Routt cofounded the department of domestic economy at Colorado Agricultural College in Fort Collins. The college was among the first co-ed universities in the state. Ammons became the university’s first female faculty member, providing young women with a well-rounded education that included practical skills and liberal arts courses. The curricula offered academic courses such as architecture and chemistry as well as applied arts courses such as cooking, sewing, and decorating. Ammons helped many new graduates find jobs as nurses or teachers.
Work in Women’s Suffrage
In 1902 Ammons became dean of woman’s work at Colorado Agricultural College, making her the first female dean in the school’s history. In doing so, one of her first actions as dean was to change the name from the Department of Domestic Economy to the Department of Domestic Science. Ammons’s focus turned to the scientific methods for cooking, hygiene, and architecture in homes. The name change came as another attempt to make the college more supportive of women’s education.
Meanwhile, Ammons continued her work on behalf of women’s suffrage. In 1902 she was elected president of the Colorado Equal Suffrage Association and was also nominated to represent Colorado at the 1902 National Convention of Delegates of Woman Suffrage in Washington, DC. At the convention, she spoke about the importance of equal suffrage and its outcomes in Colorado. In her speech, Ammons argued that women voting would improve American politics by making it more equitable. She finished by mentioning the positive results of the recently held Suffrage Day at the Colorado Chautauqua in Boulder.
Ammons would later serve as principal of the Chautauqua School of Domestic Economy in Chautauqua Park, where she built a model cottage for summer living named the Gwenthean Cottage. As president of the Colorado Equal Suffrage Association, Ammons again represented Colorado at the Thirty-Fifth Annual National Suffrage Convention in New Orleans in 1903.
Legacy
Theodosia Ammons suffered from an unknown illness for years before her death on July 17, 1907, in Denver at the age of forty-five. She is remembered for the dual distinction of being the first female faculty member and first female dean at Colorado State. The university’s Special Collections Department includes Ammons’s writings on her activities at the school and in the broader suffrage movement. In addition, the school’s Home Economics building features a stained-glass window in Ammons’s honor that ties into the Zonta CIub of Fort Collins's exhibit of accomplished local women.
In fall 2018, Ammons was among the suffragists and civic leaders included in a public art project in Fort Collins called Her Legacy: Women of Fort Collins, with her portrait appearing on the outer wall of CooperSmith’s Poolside Restaurant downtown.
10th Grade
Theodosia Ammons (1862–1907) worked to advance the cause of women’s suffrage. She became president of the Colorado Equal Suffrage Association and was cofounder of the department of domestic economy at Colorado State University. There she served as the school’s first female faculty member and first female dean.
Early Life
Theodosia Grace Ammons was born in Macon, North Carolina, in 1862. Her father, Jehu Richard Ammons was a minister and involved her in church activities from an early age. Her brother Elias later served as governor of Colorado from 1913 to 1915. Her nephew, Teller Ammons served as governor from 1937 to 1939.
In 1871, when Theodosia was nine years old, the family moved to Denver. She graduated from Denver High School in 1883 but did not attend college. Instead, she taught at the same high school from which she had just graduated.
Career
Ammons worked to advance women’s suffrage in Colorado, especially in women’s education. In 1895 Ammons and Eliza Routt cofounded the department of domestic economy at Colorado Agricultural College in Fort Collins (now Colorado State University). Ammons became the university’s first female faculty member. She provided young women with a well-rounded education that included practical skills and liberal arts courses. She helped many new graduates find jobs as nurses or teachers.
Work in Women’s Suffrage
In 1902 Ammons became dean of woman’s work at Colorado Agricultural College. She was the first female dean in the school’s history. She changed the name of the Department of Domestic Economy to the Department of Domestic Science. The name change was an attempt to make the college more supportive of women’s education.
In 1902 she was elected president of the Colorado Equal Suffrage Association. As president, Ammons represented Colorado in 1902 at the National Convention of Delegates of Woman Suffrage in Washington DC. She gave a speech in which she argued that women voting would improve American politics.
Legacy
On July 17, 1907 Theodosia Ammons died in Denver at the age of forty-five. She is remembered for being the first female faculty member and first female dean at CSU. The school’s Home Economics building features a stained-glass window in her honor that ties into the Zonta Club of Fort Collins’s exhibit of talented local women..
In 2018, Ammons was among the suffragists and civic leaders included in a public art project in Fort Collins. called Her Legacy: Women of Fort Collins.
8th Grade
Theodosia Ammons (1862–1907) worked for the women’s suffrage cause. She was president of the Colorado Equal Suffrage Association and cofounder of the department of domestic economy at Colorado State University. Ammons served as the school’s first female faculty member and first female dean.
Early Life
Theodosia Grace Ammons was born in Macon, North Carolina, in 1862.
In 1871 the family moved to Denver. She graduated from Denver High School in 1883 and began teaching there soon after graduating.
Career
In 1895 Ammons and Eliza Routt cofounded the department of domestic economy at Colorado Agricultural College in Fort Collins. Ammons became the university’s first female faculty member. Ammons helped many new graduates find jobs as nurses or teachers.
Work in Women’s Suffrage
In 1902 Ammons became dean of woman’s work at Colorado Agricultural College, making her the first female dean in the school’s history. She changed the name of the Department of Domestic Economy to the Department of Domestic Science.
In 1902 she was elected president of the Colorado Equal Suffrage Association.
Legacy
Theodosia Ammons died on July 17, 1907. She is remembered for being the first female faculty member and first female dean at Colorado State. The school’s Home Economics building features a stained-glass window in her honor.
4th Grade
Theodosia Ammons (1862–1907) worked for the women’s suffrage cause. She was president of the Colorado Equal Suffrage Association and cofounder of the department of domestic economy at Colorado State University. Ammons was the school’s first female teacher and dean.
Early Life
Theodosia Grace Ammons was born in Macon, North Carolina, in 1862.
In 1871 the family moved to Denver. She graduated from Denver High School in 1883 and then was a teacher at the same school.
Career
In 1895 Ammons and Eliza Routt cofounded the department of domestic economy at Colorado Agricultural College in Fort Collins. Ammons became the university’s first female teacher. Ammons helped many new graduates find jobs as nurses or teachers.
Work in Women’s Suffrage
In 1902 Ammons became dean of woman’s work at Colorado Agricultural College.
In 1902 she was elected president of the Colorado Equal Suffrage Association.
Legacy
Theodosia Ammons died on July 17, 1907.
