Jane Marguerite Lindsley was born and raised in Yellowstone National Park and attended Montana State College for her undergraduate degree. She went on to receive her master’s degree in bacteriology at the University of Pennsylvania. In 1921, during her college years, Lindsley was first employed as a temporary ranger-naturalist in Yellowstone.1 In 1925, after receiving her graduate degree and returning to Yellowstone, she became the first permanent female park ranger in the country.2 Lindsley designed her own uniform since the National Park Service did not have an official ranger uniform for women. An adapted version of this uniform would be imitated by other women rangers and would eventually become standard.1 Lindsley performed a variety of jobs during her time as ranger and ranger-naturalist. For example, while leading a three-week horseback tour where she fell through the crust of a thermal feature and burned her leg, she taught visitors first-hand the dangers of the park.1

Jane Marguerite Lindsley “…was to visitors, a true native of Yellowstone, someone who lived and breathed the park.1”

  1. "Marguerite Lindsley: the First Permanent Female Ranger." In the Shadow of the Arch.National Park Service. 15 July 2016. https://www.nps.gov/yell/blogs/marguerite-lindsley-the-first-permanent-female-ranger.htm. Accessed 17July 2018.
  2. Turner, Erin H. It Happened in Yellowstone: Remarkable Events that Shaped History.Morris Book Publishing, 2012.

Jane Marguerite Lindsley

Picture from "Marguerite Lindsley: the First Permanent Female Ranger."