Who was the first paid female park ranger in the National Park Service?

Esther Brazell was the first paid female park ranger in the National Park Service.

Brazell worked at Wind Cave National Park in South Dakota. Records identify her as a paid ranger in 1916, the year the National Park Service was created. She was hired by her father, Thomas W. Brazell, who worked at the park.

Her duties included guiding visitors through Wind Cave. She returned for another summer in 1917, when her recorded monthly salary increased from $50 to $75. These details show that early women rangers often worked in visitor services and interpretation, especially at caves and other attractions.

Brazell is sometimes confused with other early women in the NPS. Clare Marie Hodges became a prominent early ranger at Yosemite, while Marguerite Lindsley later became the first woman appointed to a year-round ranger position. Those are separate milestones.