CIVIL FILE ROOM NAMED IN HONOR OF DALLAS COUNTY PIONEER PEARL SMITH
Posted By: Marsha Bills
Following the reading of a resolution by Commissioner John Wiley Price on Tuesday, September 15, the Dallas County District and County Civil File Room became the Pearl Smith Civil File Room in honor of the first and only woman district clerk in the county’s history.
Ms. Smith, who had gained wide recognition when she was appointed as Dallas’ first woman deputy sheriff during Prohibition and was frequently photographed for newspaper articles about her activities, went on to become the first woman election judge as well.
In 1938, after almost two decades of service to Dallas County, she ran a successful grass-roots campaign that included active Pearl Smith Clubs across the County, and in January, 2009, was sworn into office by Sarah T. Hughes, the first woman state district judge.
Descendents of Pearl Smith joined current District Clerk Gary Fitzsimmons in Commissioners Court, at the Old Red Museum where a small exhibit of memorabilia from her public service is on display, and finally in the George Allen Courts Building for the unveiling of the sign.
In addition to family members, a dozen students from the Irma Rangel Young Women’s Leadership School attended the event and were later special guests in the courtroom of Judge Emily Tobolowsky where they heard testimony in a wrongful death suit.
“We hope that hearing the life story of Pearl Smith, who pursued her own dreams for what she could become, along with seeing a woman judge presiding over a compelling trial will inspire these young women to pursue lives of public service and leadership,” says Mr. Fitzsimmons.