Notable Women of 20th Century Beaufort County: Part 1

Last updated: 9 March 2020 All links active as of this date.

Kate Gleason, 1865 - 1933. (Lucille Hasell Culp Collection, cBeaufort County Library)

Each year National Women's History Month employs a unifying theme and recognizes national honorees whose work and lives testify to that theme. The theme for 2013 is "Women Inspiring Innovation Through Imagination.”  Among this year's National Women’s History Month nominees is Kate Gleason, born Catherine Anselm Gleason in Rochester, NY on January 9, 1865.  Although Miss Gleason never earned her engineering degree, she practiced engineering and employed Beaufort County tradesmen during the deepest days of the Great Depression. In fact, Coroner Roger Pinckney called her a "Godsend".  She hired local workers to build and renovate the Gold Eagle Tavern. She converted houses into apartments. For her efforts Kate Gleason was nominated as one of the ten most influential people in Beaufort’s History during the City's Tricentennial celebration. For more information about this amazing woman: 

• Read David Lauderdale’s article "How Kate Gleason turned her Love of the Lowcountry Into Action" in the Island Packet's February 12, 2011 issue.

• The Gold Eagle Tavern, owned and operated for a time by Kate Gleason, was the place to be back in its heyday. Listen and learn about the Gold Eagle Tavern in a Beaufort County Moment video. The videos were joint ventures of the County Channel, Department of Planning, the Beaufort County Library and Coastal Discovery Museum.

• Beaufort Memorial Hospital is built upon land donated by Kate Gleason. Named for her are the Kate Gleason Society that continues her philanthropic support for the local hospital and the adjacent Kate Gleason Park that offers unsurpassed views of the Beaufort River.

•   Read this Beaufort Gazette article and other clippings about her in the “Gleason, Kate (1865-1933)” vertical file housed in our Research Room. 

• Her biography, The Life and Letters of Kate Gleason by Janis F. Gleason, is available in the BDC and all branch our branch library local history sections.