Three boys run around this cozy house we call home, so as I’m sure you can imagine, I never lack for dirty dishes, laundry, and floors to clean. Today I was working on cleaning the smudge prints off all the windows and glass in the house when I stopped to clean the glass of the picture hanging above my desk. The weathered face of Virinda Taylor Longmire looks back at me, and it doesn’t take long for me to forget about cleaning as I’m once again reminded of why I was drawn to her in the first place.
My husband always jokes that he will feel like he’s “made it” when I finally hang pictures on the walls that actually include him and the boys, but so far, it’s just a collection of landscape paintings and Mrs. Longmire herself. I was walking down thrift store aisles in Kansas one day when I came across this print with “Grandma Longmire” written in the bottom left corner. I had no idea who she was or why anyone would donate the picture, but I was completely drawn in by her and couldn’t wait to bring her back home to Oklahoma with me. My sister laughed and thought I was quite the nerd for doing so, but said, “Yeah, it definitely fits your style,” which is her polite way of saying she doesn’t like it at all but is still going to be supportive of my decorating choices. My husband had a similar reaction and was slightly offended when she graced our walls before he did, but alas, she stays. I opened up the frame to clean the glass when I got home, and to my surprise, I found a piece of paper taped to the inside of the back cover. It read: 002 Grandma Longmire at Longmire Springs, Mount Rainier National Park, 1906. Virinda Longmire, wife of James Longmire. He was the first pioneer to discover the mineral springs and develop a resort there. Eagle Peak looms in the background. Courtesy of MSCUA, University of Washington Libraries, Barnes 437a. For a history-loving gal like myself, I was ecstatic to read that inscription and immediately tried to find out all I could about this woman who had stirred something deep inside of me. I wanted to know who she was, what she did, and why I was so drawn to her.
Most information about the Longmires focuses on her husband, James, but I did come across a couple of articles that helped fill in some gaps for me. Virinda was born on March 25, 1830, and lived to be 81 years old before passing on February 12, 1912. A true pioneer, she and her husband, along with four children at the time, left their home in Indiana in 1853 and headed West to be part of the first wagon train that would successfully cross the Naches Pass north of Mount Rainier. They would settle and homestead in the Yelm Valley, where James would summit Mount Rainier, guide and eventually discover a thermal mineral springs. Together, Virinda and James would open and run a ‘health spa’ for tourists. Virinda worked alongside her husband and would give birth to nine children. It’s noted that at the time of her death, she had 166 living descendants. How amazing is that!? I’m linking every website I have found over Virinda Longmire at the bottom of this page in case you’d like to go more in depth with her story, but my hope is to find books that might give me more insight into her life.
Everything I can find about Virinda and her pioneer life is fascinating to me, but it’s this simple picture of her that I always go back to. I have it hanging above my desk next to a large round mirror in the entryway of my front door. I hung it there strategically. It forces me to pause every time I see it- I look at her and then I look in the mirror and remember why I was so drawn to her that Summer day when we sort of “found” each other in Kansas. Sure, the background scenery is picturesque and beautiful, with Eagle Point standing tall behind her, but it’s her face that brings a smile to mine. Her gray hair, the wrinkles on her forehead, the jar of mineral water in one hand, and a staff in the other. She stands there, weathered and aged, yet stronger than anyone I know. She represents a life well lived, one of purpose and fortitude. Something in me longs to be like her- a woman who passed eighty-three years before I was born. In a world and culture saturated and distracted with a desire to look young and flawless, she represents the woman I long to become. The marketing term “anti-aging” that this culture is absorbed with makes me laugh, but also makes me question why so many people are scared of showing any signs of growing older, when one of my prayers is to live a long life full of years. One where I can know my children’s children. One where both the sun and laughter leave wrinkles on my forehead and crinkles around my eyes. Hands rough from years of sinking my hands into the dirt, and creating meals for those gathered around my table. What an absolute gift that would be. Every time I glance at this picture, there are two scriptures that well up inside of me:
Proverbs 31:30 Charm is deceptive and beauty is fleeting, but a woman who fears the Lord will be praised.
Psalm 121:1-2 I lift my eyes toward the mountains. Where will my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.
In everything I could find written about Virinda Taylor Longmire, there is little doubt that she was a beloved woman who loved the Lord and loved people. Now that, my friend, is a life worth remembering and a life worth living.
Resources:
Bergh, E. (2014, December 11). Virinda Longmire a Remarkable Pioneering Woman. Nisqually Valley News. Retrieved December 3, 2025, from https://yelmonline.com/stories/virinda-longmire-a-remarkable-pioneering-woman,114308
Oldham, K. (2003, January 15). First emigrant wagon train crosses Naches Pass through the Cascade Mountains in the fall of 1853. History Link.org. Retrieved December 3, 2025, from https://www.historylink.org/File/5053
(n.d.). Virinda Taylor Longmire. Find a Grave. Retrieved December 3, 2025, from https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/15200562/virinda-longmire/photo