Impactful Women of Aiken: Eulalie Chafee Salley

One dollar changed her life and the lives of thousands of women that came after her. Most of whom she would never even meet.

Eulalie Chafee Salley was born on Dec. 11, 1883. She grew up on a plantation near Augusta and was prepared to live her life according to the traditions of the day. However, another woman’s court battle turned into Salley’s motivation.  

 In 1914, the South Carolina Equal Suffrage League was formed and, by 1917, the league boasted 25 clubs which contained about three thousand members in total. In 1919, Salley sent a dollar and joined the league. By 1919, she became the league president.

 Now settled in Aiken and married to the mayor, Salley became actively involved in the suffrage movement. She campaigned, traveled, canvassed, raised money and, most scandalously, dropped suffrage pamphlets from an airplane.

 Salley funded her endeavors by obtaining a real estate license and becoming the first woman realtor in the state.  Suffrage was eventually achieved and Sally was invited to stand behind the government while the 19th amendment was signed into law by the South Carolina governor in 1969.

Eventually, Salley impulsively purchased the Pickens house which has become a landmark of USC Aiken’s campus.

 Salley passed away on Mar. 8, 1975 after battling cancer, but her determination left a lasting impact on the women of Aiken.