Legendary gold rush stagecoach driver blurred gender lines
Over a century after their death, Charlie Parkhurst, a once legendary stagecoach driver in Santa Cruz County, California —who symbolized women's suffrage on the Central Coast — is also regarded as an important figure in LGBTQ+ history.
In the midst of the California Gold Rush, Parkhurst was said to be the best whip in California — a dangerous job that required long travel across narrow mountain passes and rocky roads, sometimes met by dangerous wildlife and bandits.
Parkhurst's story drew national attention immediately after their death in 1879, when it was discovered Charley was born Charlotte.
Journalists from across the country tried to piece Parkhurst's life together, a mission taken up by historians up through today.
"I think people of all stripes have appreciated this legend," California Sen. John Laird said.
"I think it was just that there was a certain amount of courage at a time that that wasn't even thought of. If you look at the Stonewall incident of 1970, Charley Parkhurst was doing this 100 years before Stonewall," Laird said.
The stagecoach driver's posthumous fame led to a plaque on a now Soquel fire station, naming Charley the first woman to have voted in a United States primary election — a title debated among historians, gender aside.
The title is also on their headstone at the Pioneer Cemetery in Watsonville, California.
To add, Parkhurst's name can be seen all over Santa Cruz County, in books, in libraries and on street signs and buildings.
"We didn't have the vocabulary how you identified then. We got the vocabulary today," said Rob Darrow, a consultant on LGBTQ+ matters for the Santa Cruz Office of Education.
Darrow also co-organized an LGBTQ+ exhibit that spotlighted Parkhurst at the Santa Cruz Museum of Art and History.
"It's debated among historians, but based on the research I've done, Charley would have used he and him pronouns. He lived his life as a man and, I believe, would identify as a man today. That is a trans story," Darrow said.
At this point, Parkhurst's story is a tall tale, and different people will use different pronouns to describe them.
"It's a good question to ask students as well. If Charley lived today, would Charley identify as a transgender person?" Darrow said. "What pronouns might Charley use? That's the beauty of history. That's the beauty of inquiry that all teachers should be using throughout the state."