Mary Elitch Long

Life & Legacy

Mary Elitch Long (born Mary Elizabeth Hauck; May 10, 1856 – July 16, 1936) was one of the original owners of Elitch Gardens in Denver, Colorado. She was the first woman to own and manage a zoo—the first zoo between Chicago and the west coast—and one of the first women to own and manage a theater (the first Summer stock theatre in the country.) She was an author of two children's books and was inducted into the Colorado Women's Hall of Fame in 1996.