Look at the Past: Prominent female explorer from Deersville

Mary Jobe Akeley was born between Deersville and the village of Tappan in 1878. She entered Scio College at the age of 15 and upon graduation taught in Uhrichsville. In addition to her love of education and teaching, she developed a love of exploring.

In the Fairbanks Daily Times, June 27, 1913 – “Mary Jobe to explore Southeastern portion of the Northern Territory this summer”.

She made ten trips exploring the Canadian Northwest at the request of the Canadian government. She mapped the unexplored glaciated region of Mt. Sir Alexander. The Canadian government named Mt. Jobe in her honor. In 1916, she started a summer camp for girls in Mystic, CT, that flourished until 1930.

In 1924, she married Carl Akeley, a distinguished naturalist, sculptor, inventor and noted taxidermist and African explorer. In 1926, they left for an expedition to East Africa to collect specimens for the African Hall of the Museum of Natural History in New York. Carl died in November 1926, while studying and collecting the mountain gorillas. Mary was to be Field Assistant, safari manager and secretary. She took charge of the expedition and completed the collection and preservation of specimens. For this work she was awarded the “Cross of the Knight, Order of the Crown”, by Albert I, King of Belgium, in 1928. She made two more trips there at the request of the Belgium government, one at the age of 69. Mary has written seven books about her adventures in Africa.

She was inducted into Ohio Women’s Hall of Fame in 1979, and the Connecticut Women’s Hall of Fame in 1994. She was in the “Who was Who in America” 1961-1968. The Mary L. Jobe Akeley Trust & Peace Sanctuary was established in Mystic, CT, after her death and remains a major local conservation organization. “Whenever the crowds of children who visit the African Hall of the Museum of Natural History know of African wilds, they know largely because of Mrs. Akeley, the woman who brought the jungle to Central Park East.”

On a quiet afternoon in the summer of 1966, the 88-year-old internationally known explorer, mountain climber, author, lecturer, conservationist and educator was laid to rest in Patterson Cemetery in Deersville, Ohio, beside her parents. There was a historical marker placed at the entrance of Patterson Cemetery in 2003 in honor of Mary Jobe Akeley.

Picture and information from the files of the Harrison Co. Historical Society.