Mabel Bassett

Mabel Luella Bourne Bassett (August 16, 1876 – 1953) was a Democratic Oklahoma politician who served as the state's Commissioner of Charities and Corrections from 1923 until 1947. Born in Chicago, Bassett lived in St. Louis before moving to Sapulpa, Oklahoma in 1902. Prior to seeking political office, she founded the Creek County Humane Society, one of the first humane societies in Oklahoma. Once in office, Bassett was responsible for establishing a women's unit of the Oklahoma State Penitentiary and transferring African-American juvenile delinquents from the state penitentiary to a training school in Boley. Bassett also campaigned for a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives in 1932; however, she lost to fellow Democrat Will Rogers. Buck Cook replaced Bassett as Commissioner of Charities and Corrections in 1947, at which point Bassett retired from politics. Upon her death in 1953, she lay in state in the Oklahoma State Capitol.[1]

Oklahoma's Mabel Bassett Correctional Center is named for Bassett.