Maude Frazier
(1881-1963)
Pioneering Nevada Educator, Lawmaker, Lt. Governor
Born on a farm in Wisconsin, Maude Frazier decided to go west after teaching for a few years close to home. In 1906, she came to Genoa, Nevada to be a teacher and principal in the town’s two-teacher school, and she was involved with education in Nevada until her death in 1963. After teaching for several years in small mining towns across the state, she became principal of the Sparks Elementary School. Then, in 1921, she was selected over several male candidates to become the supervisor over the 75 public schools and 40,000 square miles in Lincoln, Clark, Esmeralda, and Nye counties. Frazier served as superintendent of the Las Vegas Union School District from 1927 until 1946, and she was the driving force behind the construction of Las Vegas High School.
After retiring from the school district in 1947, Frazier served in the Nevada Assembly for 12 years. She was appointed to its Education Committee and became known as a champion of public education. In 1955, she persuaded legislators to appropriate $200,000 for a southern Nevada campus of the university system. The first building on the new Nevada Southern University (now UNLV) campus was named in her honor.
When Lt. Gov. Rex Bell died suddenly in 1962, the 81-year-old Frazier was appointed to complete his term, becoming the first woman to serve as Nevada lieutenant governor. This was the highest political position ever occupied by a woman in the state. She served the remaining six months of Bell's term, retired, and died within a year of leaving office.
[Photo courtesy of Special Collections & Archives, University Libraries, University of Nevada, Las Vegas]