With Mother's Day approaching, there is no better time to celebrate the women who raised us, guided us, and lift us up every day. At Outback Trading Company, it’s also a chance to pay tribute to our frontier mothers. The women who helped shape the American West with unshakable strength.
On top of tending to their family, they ran ranches, raised livestock, taught generations, and rode through dust, rain, and hardships. These women weren’t just part of the West. They were the soul of it.
The Grit of Nellie Cashman
In the 1870s, Nellie Cashman traveled alone through the rough mining towns of the American West—not to strike it rich, but to feed the hungry and care for the sick. A prospector, and philanthropist, Nellie ran boarding houses and general stores from Nevada to Alaska, often using her earnings to support those in need.
When a group of miners was trapped in a blizzard in the Cassiar Mountains, Nellie packed 1,500 pounds of supplies onto a sled and led a rescue mission through subzero temperatures and avalanche-prone terrain. She reached them in time, saving their lives and refusing any reward.
They called her “The Angel of the Mining Camps”—a woman whose strength, courage, and compassion made her a legend of the West.
Elinore Pruitt Stewart
In 1909, Elinore Pruitt Stewart set out with her young daughter to homestead in Wyoming, determined to build a life on her own terms. A widow and a working woman, she claimed land under the Homestead Act and began documenting her experiences in letters to a former employer. Those letters were eventually published, painting a vivid picture of life on the frontier from a woman’s perspective.
Elinore wrote of fixing fences, planting crops, weathering storms, and raising a family in a land as wild as it was beautiful. Her words challenged the belief that women couldn’t handle the demands of frontier life. “I do not see how anyone could help enjoying the life we live out here,” she wrote. “It is so free.”
The women of the frontier took on everything the land threw their way. They needed grit to keep going, and the gear that could keep up. Heavy coats, broad-brimmed hats, and layers built to last weren’t just fashion. They were survival tools. Today, we channel that same spirit with pieces like our oilskin jackets, canvas dusters, and weather-ready hats. These timeless pieces are rooted in tradition, and made for modern life.
They remind us that history is not just a collection of stories, but a rich story woven with the experiences of women who helped shape the course of a nation.
So whether you’re navigating the wild terrain of the backcountry or the everyday challenges of modern life, know that you’re part of a long legacy of women who do it all—and do it with grit and grace. So let's tip our hats to the strength that endures, the spirit that carries on, and the gear built to keep up every step of the journey.