Ruthe Winegarten
August 26, 1929–June 14, 2004
Ruthe Winegarten was a pioneer in documenting Texas women’s history. Her tireless research ensured that Texan women’s voices were heard, recorded, and valued.
Born in Dallas in 1929, Winegarten developed a passion for activism at an early age. She pursued a PhD at The University of Texas at Dallas, but she soon left school to contribute directly to the growing field of women’s history with her own work.
Shortly after moving to Austin in 1978, Winegarten was hired as research director and curator of the Texas Women’s History Project, a sweeping initiative designed to increase public awareness of women’s contributions to Texas history. She and her staff attacked the task with vigor, collecting biographical information on nearly six hundred women and cataloguing thousands of related artifacts. The project’s success strengthened Winegarten’s passion for uncovering untold stories.
Over the next several years, Winegarten gathered oral histories of thousands of Texan women, publishing twenty works documenting the previously unheard experiences of Black women and Tejanas in the state. She received numerous awards for her work and, in 2003, was elected a Fellow of the Texas State Historical Association.
Winegarten died in 2004. Reflecting on her life and work, she said, "One way I could empower people was to try and write their history. Because when you deprive people of their history, you deprive them of their power."
For More about Ruthe Winegarten
The Ruthe Winegarten Papers at UT Austin’s Dolph Briscoe Center for American History consist of research materials, correspondence, and production materials for books and theatrical productions concerning the history of Texas women. The collection also contains the drafts and research materials for several hundred speeches Winegarten gave, as well as personal letters, poetry collections, and business records.
In 1979, the Texas Foundation for Women’s Resources hired Winegarten to survey the state for resources related to women, a pioneering effort that was supported with a significant grant from Humanities Texas. The ensuing Texas Women’s History Project, for which Winegarten was the principal researcher and curator, became the foundation for her subsequent research and writing. Many historians regarded it as an essential early tool for their research as well.
In 2007, the Ruthe Winegarten Memorial Foundation for Texas Women’s History was founded as a nonprofit corporation to carry on the legacy of Winegarten’s passion for women’s history, to encourage the study of women in Texas history, and to foster independent scholarship in Texas women’s history. Their website offers resources such as lesson plans, biographies, and a full bibliography of Winegarten’s published work that can be accessed online.
Texas Women’s University’s Women’s Collection houses much of the Texas Women’s History Project’s collection of biographical information of nearly 600 women and more than 20,000 items.
In 2002, Texas Monthly published an interview with Winegarten online.
Selected Bibliography
Bulmahn, Lynn. "A Woman’s Place." Waco Tribune-Herald, December 4, 1988. Ruthe Winegarten Vertical File, Dolph Briscoe Center for American History, Austin.
Duin, Julia. "Jewish Stars of Texas." Houston Chronicle, September 2, 1989. Ruthe Winegarten Vertical File, Dolph Briscoe Center for American History, Austin.
Hunt, Annie Mae, and Ruthe Winegarten. I Am Annie Mae. Austin: University of Texas Press, 1983.
Jones, Nancy Baker. "Ruthe Winegarten." In Writing the Story of Texas, edited by Patrick L. Cox and Kenneth E. Hendrickson, Jr. Austin: University of Texas Press, 2013.
Jones, Nancy Baker. "Texas Women's History Project." Handbook of Texas Online. Accessed September 08, 2022.
Jones, Nancy Baker. "Winegarten, Ruthe Lewin." Handbook of Texas Online. Accessed September 08, 2022.
"Ruthe Lewin Winegarten." American-Statesman, June 16, 2004. Ruthe Winegarten Vertical File, Dolph Briscoe Center for American History, Austin.
"Ruthe Lewin Winegarten, August 26, 1929–June 24, 2004." Women in Texas History. Accessed December 9, 2013.
Scheibal, Stephen. "Activist kept alive stories of Texas women." June 16, 2004: B1 and B5, Ruthe Winegarten Vertical File, Dolph Briscoe Center for American History, Austin.
Shenk, Jennifer C. "Winegarten adds women’s stories to Texas history." Texas Alcalde, July/August 1996: 41, Ruthe Winegarten Vertical File, Dolph Briscoe Center for American History, Austin.
Temple, Ellen. "The Texas Women’s History Project and the Liz Carpenter Award." Humanities Texas, April 2011.
Varner, Jeannette J. "Writer of the Month: Ruthe Winegarten." Austin Writers League, July 1987: 5, Ruthe Winegarten Vertical File, Dolph Briscoe Center for American History, Austin.
Werden, Frieda. "Ruthe Winegarten, Historian and Author, 1930-2004." Off Our Backs, July-August 2004, p. 10.
"Women We Admire." Humanities Texas, March 2010.
Spanish Translation
Download the Spanish translation of this Texas Originals script.
Portrait of Ruthe Winegarten. Courtesy Ruthe Winegarten Memorial Foundation for Texas Women’s History.