Alice Robertson, born in 1854 at the Tullahassee Mission in what is now Wagoner County, became one of the most accomplished women of her time, experiencing many firsts along the way.
Perhaps most notably, in 1920 she became the second woman, and the first from Oklahoma, elected to the U.S. House of Representatives. She was the first woman to defeat an incumbent representative in a general election and on June 21, 1920, was the first woman to preside over a session in the House.
Those accomplishments were preceded and followed by many others. In 1900 she became the first federal supervisor of the Creek Indian schools, a position that included the appointment and certification of teachers and school site visits.
In 1905, President Theodore Rosevelt appointed her the country’s first female postmaster of
Muskogee’s post office, a Class A facility. She held that position until 1913. Roosevelt had heard
about “Miss Alice,” as she was often called, and how she provided food to troops as they traveled
by train through Muskogee.
Robertson’s parents were missionaries. She witnessed their teachings, selfless nature and concern for others and followed their example, although not through mission work. She attended Elmira College in New York, and from 1873 to 1879 worked as the first woman clerk in the Office of Indian Affairs in Washington. She taught at an Indian school in Pennsylvania and later supervised the Presbyterian Indian School for Girls, which would become Henry Kendall College and later Tulsa University.
Robertson’s interests were varied. After retirement, she opened Sawokla Cafeteria in Muskogee — the name meant “gathering place” in the Creek language — with milk, butter and some produce provided from her dairy and farm. The cafeteria also served free meals to soldiers, veterans and their families.
She was a tireless supporter of what she believed would help her city and her country. She recruited men for Roosevelt’s Rough Riders in the Spanish-American War, and the canteen service she provided for local troops during World War I became the Muskogee Chapter of the American Red Cross.
She was a staunch Republican and often shared her political views with those in the cafeteria; regular customers knew they were getting more than a meal when they walked through the door. Her strong personality; anti-feminist views and opposition for women’s rights groups; and commitment to Native American issues were well known and often the subject of conversation and debate.
Robertson served only one term in Congress, losing her second bid in 1922. In 1925, her café and home were burned down by opponents as payback for her votes in Washington.
After her political career ended and she settled full-time back in Muskogee, Robertson became a Washington correspondent for the Muskogee News and worked for the Oklahoma Historical Society.
A prolific writer who had chronicled her life and experiences, she bequeathed her personal library and family papers to the University of Tulsa on her death in 1931. Robertson Hall dormitory at the University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma in Chickasha was named in her honor, as was the Alice Robertson Junior High School in Muskogee.
Interested in learning more about history in Oklahoma? Check out Looking Back: Sylvan Goldman, Inventor of the Shopping Cart!