MARY POSEY

by Karen Frances McWhite 2022-2024

CREATING the MARY POSEY SCENE

Migrating with her husband from Montana to Leavenworth on the Great Northern Railway in 1894, Mary and Mr. Posey invested in railroad land and developed an apple orchard with money he earned as a barber. Eight years later, Mary was left alone to support her children after her husband was stabbed and killed by a drunken customer. Mary chose to stay and manage the property, becoming Leavenworth’s first female citizen of African American descent. The land, off North Road, is now known as Posey Canyon and includes Posey Creek.

Since the historical information on Mary Posey is incomplete, Karen Francis-McWhite has written the scene to reflect both the challenge Mary faced as a new widow and the general challenges that African American settlers faced in the West at that time. Thanks to Harriet Burns and the North Central Regional Library for research and an early script.