Texas Pioneer Woman statue

Commissioned by District VIII of the Daughters of the Republic of Texas (DRT). This pioneer mother was sculpted by DRT member Linda Sioux Henley. The Pioneer Woman's Statue Committee worked for 10 years to design and fundraise for the statue. According to The Kerrville Times, the statue "captured the brave proud spirit of the women who rocked the cradle and civilized the Republic of Texas." It was the only statue of a woman on the Texas Capitol grounds when it was dedicated in 1998.

In 1998, District VII of the Daughters of the Republic of Texas erected a statue “honoring the pioneer women of early Texas” on the statehouse lawn in Austin. The Texas Pioneer Woman almost smiles. Most pioneer mothers in public monuments wear wide-brimmed sunbonnets. In contrast, this one has removed her sunbonnet, which she holds sassily at her right hip. Her hair is tied up in a loose chignon that frames her face. The wind blows her long skirts. While Texas artist Linda Sioux Henley allowed her Texas Pioneer Woman to emerge from the blinders of her sunbonnet, the monument’s overall visual impact remains one of honoring white women’s sacrifices in settling the rough frontier and birthing the state whose domed capitol looms behind her.

While most pioneer mothers in monuments stride purposely westward, Henley’s stands still. Like many pioneer mothers, she holds an infant. Rather than being tightly swaddled, Henley granted this baby personhood: crossed bare legs extend from its wrap, and it brings its fist to its mouth. But its unnatural leg arrangement and position extending above its mother’s shoulder repeat the unnatural poses that sculptors and public audiences alike critiqued since the 1920s.

Artist Linda Sioux Henley is a San Antonio, Texas, native and member of the Daughters of the Republic of Texas. She traces her family background to Alamo defender Gordon C. Jennings and Cherokee heritage through her mother.

Linda Sioux Henley, DRT, Accessed June 27th, 2024. https://lindasiouxhenley.com/.

"Pioneer Woman." The Seguin Gazette-Enterprise (Seguin, Texas) October 9th, 1998. .

Prescott, Cynthia Culver. Pioneer Mother Monuments: Constructing Cultural Memory. Norman. University of Oklahoma Press, 2019.

"Sculptor speaks to local DRT chapter." The Kerrville Times (Kerrville, Texas) March 18th, 1999. .