The 19th Century woman who wore bloomer dresses

Julia Archibald Holmes was born in 1838, in Nova Scotia, Canada. Her family soon moved to the United States and were staunch abolitionist (against slavery). Which molded her life.

Julia herself was an abolitionist, suffragette and the first European American woman to climb Pikes Peak in Colorado. She camped near Manitou Springs as a member of the Lawrence Party with her husband, Henry Homles, and brother in 1858. During her climbing adventure, she wore a bloomer dress to climb the peak. Which was very controversial for the time.

Famous bloomer dress of the mid-1800'sPhoto byColorado Springs Pioneer Museum

During her climb with the Lawrence Party, Julia and Henry set their sights on reaching the summit of Pikes Peak. It was Julia’s desire to show women of the day that they could do anything men could do. She became the first recorded European-American woman to summit Pikes Peak.

During her adventures she always would wear her “Bloomer Costume” (also called “Turkish pantalo”). This costume was a calf-length skirt with puffy pantaloons underneath. See picture above.

Juila made a name for herself, by recording her observations of Colorado and her adventure. During her time climbing Pikes Peak, she chose to walk and insisted she share men’s guard duty. Along the way, she described in her writings, Colorado’s gold-camp life. I found copies of her writings on Esty and Amazon (see links below). According to an article of the time:

Mrs. Julia Archibald Homes, a hardy 20 year old Kansas bride, was the first white woman to reach the top August 5, 1858. She climaxed her achievement by standing atop the wind blown summit and reading some of Emerson’s poetry aloud. Then she sat down and wrote a letter to her mother in Lawerence, Kans., about the beautiful view.

After their Pikes Peak adventure, Julia and Henry traveled to New Mexico. Henry was soon appointed as the Secretary of the Territory of New Mexico. Because of the Holmes’ abolitionist views and other power struggles, Henry was arrested for sedition and the family’s exit from New Mexico.

Julia Arcibald HolmesPhoto byPublic Domain

A Women on Her Own

Soon after the Civil War, Julia divorced Henry and moved to Washington, D.C., with her four children and became a working mother. In D.C, she became the first female member of the United States Board of Education and was a secretary for the National Woman Suffrage Association. Her hard work for the U.S. Department of the Interior was rewarded with pay equal to her male counterparts.

Along with a growing number of suffragists, she and her sister attempted to register to vote in 1871. Which is about fifty years before women were allowed to vote. Her efforts helped pave the way for women’s rights and her abolitionist work helped forward anti-slavery sentiment in New Mexico.

Julia Archibald Holmes died on January 9, 1887, at the age of 48. She is buried in Oak Hill Cemetery in Washington, D.C. next to two of her daughters and her sister. She was inducted into the Colorado Women’s Hall of Fall in 2014.

Examples of Juila’s bloomer dress and illustrations can be found at the Colorado Springs Pioneer Museum exhibit “Bloomer Girl.”

What do you think of Juila pioneering efforts? Let us know in the comments.

Example of the Bloomer Dress in the Colorado Springs Pioneer Museum.Photo byColorado Springs Pioneer Museum

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References

• Find-a-Grave: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/97396372/julia-anna-holmes
• Colorado’s Great Women: https://www.cogreatwomen.org/project/julia-archibald-holmes/
• National Park Service: https://www.nps.gov/people/julia-archibald-holmes.htm
• Colorado Springs Pioneer Museum: https://www.cspm.org/articles/bloomer-girl/
• Juilia’s Writings on Esty: https://www.etsy.com/listing/898462879/vintage-1949-a-bloomer-girl-on-pikes?dd_referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2F
• Denver Public Library Juilia Homles papers: https://archives.denverlibrary.org/repositories/3/resources/333
• Bloomer Girl on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/bloomer-girl-Pikes-Peak-1858/dp/B0007EGQM0
• Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julia_Archibald_Holmes