Cunningham, Minnie Fisher

(March 19, 1882-December 9, 1964) A native of Walker County, Minnie Fisher earned a pharmacy degree at the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston in 1901. She worked in a Huntsville drugstore and married attorney B. J. Cunningham in 1902. They moved to Galveston in 1907, and she later lived in Austin and Washington, D.C. A leader in woman suffrage organizations, she was president of the Texas Equal Suffrage Association and helped found the National League of Women Voters. In 1928 she became the first Texas woman to run for the U.S. Senate. Her campaign was unsuccessful, and the year also was marred by the death of her husband. Her career turned toward public relations for government agencies, including the Texas Agricultural Extension Service and the U.S. Department of Agriculture. An activist in the National Democratic Party, she counted President Franklin D. Roosevelt among the many friends who fondly called her by her nickname, "Minnie Fish". In 1944 she ran for Governor of Texas against Coke Stevenson, placing second among nine candidates in the primary. She built a home near this site in 1946 and continued to work in Democratic Party politics until her death at age 82.

Cunningham, Minnie Fisher is a historical marker in Walker County, Texas, dedicated in 1990. It is one of 69 historical markers documented in Walker County in the Texas Historical Commission Atlas, among 85 historic sites cataloged across the county.

The site sits at 30.5777, -95.4777. The nearest cataloged historic site is Elijah Collard (historical marker), about 2.8 miles away. Others within a short drive include Black Jack Methodist Church, East Sandy Community, and Boswell Baptist Church.

This record corresponds to Texas Historical Commission Atlas #5471008441. Use the map below for its exact position and turn-by-turn directions.