1317 South Fourth Street (Mary Lafon)
Residence of Mary Lafon from 1901-1903
Mary Lafon was born in Jessamine County Kentucky, near Lexington. Her father, John Lafon, was a close friend of Henry Clay, and president of the Lexington & Harrodsburg Turnpike Company. Mary was educated in Massachusetts at a female boarding school and in the 1850s went to Europe to pursue advanced linguistics study. Eventually moving to Louisville, she was frequently in the news for hosting receptions and teas, but clearly had plans to do more with her life. She formed the Presbyterian Mission Society of Kentucky and became friends with Hallie Quigley, who would remain a life-long friend. In the late 1870s, she became the administrator of Louisville Presbyterian Orphans’ Home. In the 1880s, she was a leader of the Free Kindergarten Movement, where she likely met Patty Semple and other educational reformers such as sisters Patty and Mildred Hill as well as Louise Yandell. Mary was also an avid supporter of the Kentucky Infirmary for Women and Children.
Due to her involvement with various children’s organizations, Mary Lafon understood that the city was not equipped to care for sick and injured children, particularly the under-privileged. Mary and her dear friend Hallie Quigley set out to fix this gap, meeting with two prominent doctors to discuss care for indigent children, setting the wheels in motion to create a children’s hospital in Louisville. Fate intervened and on March 27, 1890, a tornado tore through Louisville, killing at least 75 and injuring more than 200, many of whom were indigent children. Lafon spearheaded the city’s relief and reconstruction effort. The disaster had made the need for children’s care even more obvious and in October 1890, only months after the tornado struck, the Children’s Free Hospital was incorporated. It was the 10th pediatric hospital in the country and the first in the South. Mary Lafon was the hospital’s president from 1890 until 1918, and according to the Hospital’s records, ran the hospital for the first 30 years.
Also in 1890, Mary became a charter member of the Woman’s Club of Louisville and served as first vice-president. She held the office of State Vice-President of the Women’s National Rivers and Harbors Congress and addressed the Woman’s Club on the importance of waterways and other environmental concerns. Always an advocate for women’s rights, she was a co-founder and an officer of the Louisville Equal Rights Association in 1889. She remained active with its successor organization, the Louisville Suffrage Association. Once the 19th Amendment was passed, this group morphed into the League of Women Voters, and Mary remained steadfastly involved. She also continued her lifetime efforts on child labor legislation, women’s voter registration, government support for children’s health, public education and equalization of marriage laws.
Mirroring Mary, her friend Hallie Quigley was Associate Director of the Louisville Children’s Free Hospital, a long-term member of the Board for the Hospital Circle, an officer for the Louisville Free Kindergarten Association, a charter member of the Woman’s Club of Louisville, and an early member of the Louisville Equal Rights Association. These two were life-long friends, with similar interests and involvement in charitable organizations. They frequently lived together, including many years at a house at 1337 South 4th which Hallie owned with her sister Belle. Mary is even noted as surviving Hallie in her obituary. Hallie passed away in December 1915, and Mary Lafon died in 1925.