Stone Gardens: Trek from Illinois to Arkansas allowed progressive woman to become Polk County leader

Mary Ellen Blackburn Wigstrand was a pioneering Arkansas legislator, civic leader, and writer who became the first woman elected from Polk County to the Arkansas General Assembly.

Her election in 1926 marked a significant moment in the state’s political history, reflecting the growing influence of women in public life following the ratification of the 19th Amendment.

Beyond her legislative role, Wigstrand was deeply involved in community improvement efforts, literary circles, and social reform initiatives, making her a notable figure in early 20th-century Arkansas civic and political development.

Mary Ellen Blackburn was born on September 17, 1856, in Chicago, Illinois,and her father, Breckenridge Flournoy Blackburn, was an attorney from a politically prominent Kentucky family.

The Blackburn family relocated to Memphis, Tennessee, where Mary attended St. Agnes Academy and was a member of St. Peter Catholic Church.

In 1877, she married Amos Walter Jones, an architect from Memphis. They had a son in 1889 but both the son and Johnes died within two years. . Mary maintained ties to Kentucky, where her uncle Luke Blackburn served as governor (1879–1883), and another uncle, Joseph Blackburn, held seats in both the U.S. House and Senate.

In 1897, Mary married Gustave Frederick Wigstrand, a Swedish-born engineer who had immigrated to the United States in 1879. The couple settled in Polk County where they had a son, Var Alsking Garin Wigstrand, born in August 1900. He died in infancy that November.

The Wigstrands briefly relocated to Connecticut in 1908 for Fred’s government work, but returned to Mena by mid-1909 due to health concerns. Fred Wigstrand died of heart failure on February 26, 1918.

Mary Wigstrand was active in civic life in Mena for over two decades. She served as county probation officer, contributed regularly to the local newspaper, and participated in the Mena Woman’s Literary Club, where she was named club poet in 1908.

She also held roles in the School Improvement Association, the Red Cross, and the League of Women Voters.

In 1921, she joined the executive board of the Mena Women’s Club and was elected as a county delegate to the Democratic state convention in 1922. Her political career peaked in 1926 when she defeated Hatfield mayor William Brewer in the Democratic primary and ran unopposed in the general election, becoming the first woman elected from Polk County to the Arkansas House of Representatives.

During her term, Wigstrand helped pass legislation renaming the Illiteracy Commission to the Arkansas Adult Education Commission. She co-authored a bill with Representative Florence McRaven to require fathers of illegitimate children to pay hospital expenses, though it failed to pass.

She also advocated for evening legislative sessions to allow more time for bill consideration. Her primary legislative goal--establishing the Western Agricultural College in Mena--was not realized.

Mary Ellen Wigstrand died on July 12, 1927, shortly after the legislative session ended. She was buried in White Oak Cemetery in Polk County.