Governor Emmet Derby Boyle
Washoe County, Washoe County, Nevada
Marker Inscription
Governor Emmet Derby Boyle. Eight grave sites to the north rests Emmet Derby Boyle (1879-1926), the first native-born governor of Nevada, serving from 1915-1923. Born in Goldhill, Boyle was also the first graduate of the University of Nevada to become governor. At thirty-five, he was the youngest person to hold the state’s highest office.Governor Emmet Boyle worked on Nevada’s water laws and introduced the state’s first executive budget. A strong supporter of women’s rights, Boyle called the Nevada Legislature into special session in 1920 to ratify the 19th amendment to the United States Constitution granting women the right to vote.Emmet Boyle died on January 3, 1926 and is buried next to his wife Vida McClure Boyle who he married in 1903.
Erected by Chris Driggs
The Story
Emmet Derby Boyle (1879–1926) rose from the mining town of Goldhill to become, at thirty-five, the youngest governor in Nevada history and the first born within the state's own borders. Serving from 1915 to 1923, he modernized Nevada's government with its first executive budget and helped shape the water law of an arid state. A committed supporter of suffrage, he called the legislature into special session in 1920 so Nevada could ratify the Nineteenth Amendment.
Why it matters
Boyle embodies the Progressive-era transformation of a frontier mining state into a modern government, and his push to ratify women's suffrage tied Nevada directly to one of the great expansions of American democracy.
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Related people
- · Emmet Derby Boyle
- · Vida McClure Boyle
Related events
- · Ratification of the 19th Amendment
Themes & tags
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