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Women of Nevada: Part II

© Kathleen M. Brune

The second in a three-part series of articles honoring women in Nevada. In this article, we'll explore the lives of some women in business and mining.

Gaming has not always been around in Nevada. The original draw for most of those early settlers was the promise of great wealth from prospecting and mining. Others came here simply looking for a new start and a better life for their families. Once arrived, life was difficult. Women, especially, had very few choices and only the very strong-willed were able to establish themselves on their own. Some of these women, like Dr. Mary Fulstone, had some sort of professional training that was scarce and desperately needed. Other women, like Anna Rechel, were bitten by the mining bug and spent their lives moving from one area to another in search of their lucky strike. Whatever their reasons for landing in Nevada, these women made their homes here and lived their lives on their own terms.

Dr. Mary Fulstone

Dr. Mary, as she came to be known by her friends and patients, was born and bred in Nevada. Although raised very strictly within her circle of family, church and school, she later described her childhood as being very happy.

Unlike many women in those early years, her young life was focused as a scholar, and she intended to become a math teacher until she attended the University of California, Berkeley. There, she changed her direction and enrolled in medical school after receiving a bachelor's degree in 1915. Graduating in 1918, she served her residency at San Francisco's County Hospital and Children's Hospital. Her year there was a very difficult one, as the flu epidemic hit and she watched her patients die one after another, with nothing she could do to help.

In 1919, Mary married Fred Fulstone, and over the next several years she and Fred settled at Fred's sheep ranch in Smith Valley and had five children together.

While Dr. Mary's career grew slowly in Smith Valley, the people were grateful to have a doctor nearby. She also had a contract with the government to care for the Indians over quite an area in that region of Nevada. In those early days, modern medicines were not available, and Dr. Mary had little to use to help her patients. Her patients also seldom had money to pay for the treatment she provided, and she accepted anything they had in trade, although she never turned away a patient simply because they had nothing. She worked without electricity, phones, a hospital (she had to make housecalls). Sometimes it was difficult to reach her patients because of weather or bad roads. Her determination in getting to the people that needed her was something she was long remembered for.