Charleston’s first female legislature, Virginia Brockington Gourdin, died on Saturday, February 14. She was 88.

She served two terms starting in 1958, and at the time she was the fifth woman to serve in the General Assembly and the first woman from Charleston County.

The Post and Courier reports, in part:
Gourdin held her own, blasting her colleagues for wasteful spending and campaigning to investigate communist activity in the state. She was publicly critical of having state judges elected by a Legislature dominated by attorneys who practice before those judges.

Gourdin accomplished a great deal academically and politically in her lifetime. Her triumphs will continue to serve as a model for other politically active women in South Carolina.

Head over to The Post and Courier for the story.