Elinor V.
Cogswell

BIO:

Elinor V. Cogswell was born in Klamath Falls, Oregon in 1892, and she was passionate about writing from a young age. This led her to move to Palo Alto to attend Stanford University, earning a BA and then a Master’s in English. After graduation, she looked for a job in the area and walked into the office of the Palo Alto Times. She began covering city affairs there in 1918, when the newspaper only had a three person staff. The paper grew over time, and she grew to take on more senior roles, such as “Editor of Women’s Interests,” which was a title she assumed in the early 1930s. In 1938, she took over as chief editor of the Palo Alto Times and was the only woman in California to hold that title at the time.  

Cogswell worked at the Times for 41 years, and during her time there sought to use the paper as a force for good. She championed many causes, including civil rights, racial justice, parks and open space preservation, quality of life issues, historical preservation, freedom of speech, and more. A park in downtown Palo Alto is named Cogswell Park in her honor, because she fought to prevent it from becoming a parking lot, allowing it to continue to be a space for all Palo Alto residents to enjoy.  

Womanhood is a public art and digital media project that promotes the historical contributions of women to Santa Clara County. https://womanhoodproject.org/ 

Womanhood is supported by the County of Santa Clara Office of Women’s Policy.