A longtime resident of the French Quarter, Mary Meek Morrison was influential in both municipal politics and the twentieth-century French Quarter preservation movement. In the 1930s, Morrison joined other female volunteers in the efforts to elect Sam Jones to the governorship in 1940 and deLesseps “Chep” Morrison—the half brother of her husband, Jacob Morrison—to the mayor’s office in 1946.

Both Sam Jones and Chep Morrison were reform candidates running in opposition to the Long political machine. Women such as Mary Meek Morrison, who volunteered as a ward leader and poll watcher, were instrumental in ending voter fraud and in registering female voters during these elections.

In 1945 Morrison helped form the Independent Women’s Organization, which was dedicated to good government and increasing participation among women in politics. In the latter half of the century, Morrison turned her efforts toward the preservation of the French Quarter.

She was a founder of the Louisiana Council for the Vieux Carré and was active in the Vieux Carré Commission; in the local advocacy organization Vieux Carré Property Owners, Residents, and Associates (VCPORA); and in the Louisiana Landmarks Society.  Her preservation work earned her national recognition from the National Trust for Historic Preservation.