Editor’s note: The Courier & Press and The Gleaner are marking Black History Month with a collection of stories about people, places and events from local Black history.
EVANSVILLE — The first Black woman to hold a county-wide office in Evansville, a Sagamore of the Wabash recipient and a trailblazer for those who came after her, all of that describes Estella Moss.
Moss was the Vanderburgh County Recorder for eight years, winning the first of two elections in 1976. She also served on the City-County Human Relations Commission and oversaw city cemeteries, and the downtown license branch.
In 2019, Moss received the Torchbearer Award from the Indiana Commission for Women. That same year, she received the Sadelle Berger Award from former Evansville Mayor Lloyd Winnecke and the Human Relations Commission.
When receiving her Sagamore of the Wabash award, Indiana’s highest honor, in 2022, Moss was described by then Mayor Lloyd Winnecke as someone who has uplifted people her entire life.
“You have always been loved and respected,” he said.