Recently, SCLT installed signs along the Tongue River Water Trail which highlight historic events, themes, and figures nearby. On this #TBT, we are putting in at the head of the trail at South Park, where we will learn about Dr. Delilah Turner Sprague Babcock Sonnesberger.
Dr. Sonnesberger arrived in Sheridan in 1883. She moved from Johnson County, Wyoming Territory, where her family were well-known as early pioneers, having moved to the northern frontier of Wyoming in 1878.
In 1881, she was the first woman to cast her ballot in Johnson County. She was a prominent landowner in Sheridan and owned the entire southeastern part of town, which was in proximity of present-day N. Scott Street and Coffeen Avenue.
Delilah was a physician and studied medicine in Illinois in 1876. She outlived her three husbands and most of her seven children. August 16 is a significant date in Delilah’s life; it is the same date she was born, died, and twice married.
Delilah’s strong puritanical views are seen within her property deeds. She included clauses that prohibit the land be used for houses of intemperance or ill repute.
