Question: What Texas county elected the first woman to serve in the state legislature?
Answer: Dallas County, whose voters elected Edith Wilmans as the representative for District 50 in 1922. Born in Louisiana in 1882, Wilmans grew up in Dallas and married at the age of 18. Later, she organized several women’s associations, obtained a license to practice law, and was president of the Democratic Women’s Association of Texas. Following her one term in the Texas House, she ran unsuccessfully for governor in 1924 and 1926 and for Congress in 1948 and 1951. Wilmans is buried at Hillcrest Memorial Park in Dallas.
