U.S. Senators Gary Peters and Debbie Stabenow have introduced legislation to rename the U.S. Postal Facility in Baraga County in honor of the first woman elected to the Michigan House of Representatives, according to a news release.
The facility, located at 404 US-41 North, would be named Cora Reynolds Anderson Post Office, if approved.
Cora Reynolds Anderson, a member of the Ojibwa tribe, was the first Native American woman elected to serve in any state legislature. She represented Baraga, Iron, Keweenaw, and Ontonagon Counties.
Reynolds Anderson was born in L’Anse in 1882 and first elected to the Michigan House of Representatives in 1925.
As a state representative, she chaired the Industrial Home for Girls Committee and served on the Committees for Agriculture, Insurance, and the Northern State Normal School. Her work included fighting to recognize Native American fishing rights, and combatting the alcoholism and tuberculosis epidemics. In 2001, she was inducted into the Michigan Women’s Hall of Fame for her contributions to society.
