Mary Hunter Austin facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Mary Hunter Austin
Austin c. 1900
Born	Mary Hunter (1868-09-09)September 9, 1868 Carlinville, Illinois, US
Died	August 13, 1934(1934-08-13) (aged 65) Santa Fe, New Mexico, US
Alma mater	Blackburn College
Occupation	Writer
Spouse(s)	Stafford Wallace Austin

Mary Hunter Austin (born September 9, 1868 – died August 13, 1934) was an American writer. She was one of the first writers to focus on nature in the American Southwest. Her famous book, The Land of Little Rain (published in 1903), describes the animals, plants, and people of the area. It also shares the spiritual feeling of the land between the High Sierra mountains and the Mojave Desert in southern California.

Early Life and School

Graduation photograph of Mary Hunter Austin, 1888

Mary Hunter Austin was born on September 9, 1868, in Carlinville, Illinois. She was the fourth of six children. She finished her studies at Blackburn College in 1888. In the same year, her family moved to California and started a farm in the San Joaquin Valley.

Her Writing Career

Wedding portrait of Mary Hunter and Wallace Austin, 1891.

Mary married Stafford Wallace Austin on May 18, 1891, in Bakersfield, California. He was from Hawaii and had studied at the University of California, Berkeley.

For 17 years, Mary Austin carefully studied the lives of the Native peoples of the Mojave Desert. Her books shared the deep knowledge she gained from this time. She wrote many novels, poems, and plays. She was also an early supporter of women's rights and a strong defender of Native American and Spanish-American rights.

Austin is best known for her book The Land of Little Rain (1903). This book celebrates the deserts of California. Her play, The Arrow Maker, was about Native American life. It was performed in New York City in 1911.

Mary Austin and her husband were involved in efforts to protect the water in Owens Valley during the California Water Wars. This was a time when water from the valley was being taken to supply Los Angeles. After this effort, her husband moved to Death Valley, California.

Around 1907, Mary Austin moved to an art community in Carmel-by-the-Sea, California. There, she was part of a group of artists and writers. This group included famous people like Jack London and Sinclair Lewis.

She helped start the local Forest Theater. In 1913, her play Fire was performed there.

After visiting Santa Fe in 1918, Austin helped create The Santa Fe Little Theatre. This theater is still active today as The Santa Fe Playhouse. She also worked to protect the local culture of New Mexico. In 1925, she helped start the Spanish Colonial Arts Society.

In 1929, while living in New Mexico, Austin wrote a book with the famous photographer Ansel Adams. The book, Taos Pueblo, was published a year later. Only 108 copies were made, and it is very rare today. This is because it included real photographs by Adams, not just copies.

Her home in Santa Fe is recognized as an important historical building.

Later Life and Legacy

Mary Austin passed away on August 13, 1934, in Santa Fe. A mountain in the Sierra Nevada range was named in her honor: Mount Mary Austin. It is located near her long-time home in Independence, California.

Mary Hunter Austin wrote about her Independence, California home in The Land of Little Rain

The home Mary Austin and her husband built in Independence, California, became a California Historical Landmark. A TV movie based on The Land of Little Rain was made in 1989. It starred Helen Hunt. Later editions of The Land of Little Rain and Taos Pueblo also included photographs by Ansel Adams.

The California Historical Landmark at her home reads: CHL No. 229 Austin Home - Inyo NO. 229 MARY AUSTIN'S HOME - Mary Austin, author of The Land of Little Rain and other volumes that picture the beauty of Owens Valley, lived in Independence. "But if ever you come beyond the borders as far as the town that lies in a hill dimple at the foot of Kearsarge, never leave it until you have knocked at the door of the brown house under the willow-tree at the end of the village street, and there you shall have such news of the land, of its trails and what is astir in them, as one lover of it can give to another ..." excerpt from The Land of Little Rain.

Selected Books

See also

In Spanish: Mary Hunter Austin para niños