Ruth Ellen Bascom (; February 4, 1926 – August 26, 2010) was an American politician who served as the first female

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

Eugene, Oregon Eugene ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Lane County, Oregon, United States. It is located at the southern end of the Willamette Valley, near the confluence of the McKenzie River (Oregon), McKenzie and Willamette River, Willamette rivers, ...

, from 1993 until 1996.

Early life

Bascom was born Ruth Ellen Fenton in

Ames, Iowa Ames () is a city in Story County, Iowa, United States, located approximately north of Des Moines, Iowa, Des Moines in central Iowa. It is the home of Iowa State University (ISU). According to the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, Ames ha ...

, the daughter of two university professors. She was raised in

Manhattan, Kansas Manhattan is a city in and the county seat of Riley County, Kansas, United States, although the city extends into Pottawatomie County, Kansas, Pottawatomie County. It is located in northeastern Kansas at the junction of the Kansas River and Big ...

Career

As mayor, Bascom worked to revitalize

downtown ''Downtown'' is a term primarily used in American and Canadian English to refer to a city's sometimes commercial, cultural and often the historical, political, and geographic heart. It is often synonymous with its central business district ( ...

Eugene, removing a fountain that blocked traffic on Broadway and Willamette streets and creating bicycle and pedestrian paths. The Riverbank Trail System, which extends for twelve miles through the city along the

Willamette River The Willamette River ( ) is a major tributary of the Columbia River, accounting for 12 to 15 percent of the Columbia's flow. The Willamette's main stem is long, lying entirely in northwestern Oregon in the United States. Flowing northward ...

, is named for her.

Personal life

Bascom met her future husband, John U. Bascom, when the two were sixth-graders. The couple moved to Eugene in 1960 and had six children. On August 15, 2010, Bascom was the passenger of a car driven by her husband, John Bascom. Bascom reportedly fell asleep at the wheel and struck several trees and large boulders on U.S. Route 395 near

Burns, Oregon Burns is a city in and the county seat of Harney County, Oregon, Harney County, in the U.S. state of Oregon. According to the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 2,730. Burns and the nearby city of Hines, Oregon, Hines are ...

. Ruth Bascom suffered major injuries in the accident and was hospitalized. Ruth Bascom died from a

stroke Stroke is a medical condition in which poor cerebral circulation, blood flow to a part of the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: brain ischemia, ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and intracranial hemorrhage, hemor ...

and injuries sustained in the accident on August 26, 2010, at the age of 84.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bascom, Ruth 1926 births 2010 deaths 20th-century mayors of places in Oregon Politicians from Ames, Iowa Mayors of Eugene, Oregon Women mayors of places in Oregon Kansas State University alumni Cornell University alumni Road incident deaths in Oregon 21st-century American women