Remember+the+Ladies

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 * Remember the Ladies: A Walk through Boston Women's History **
 * by Heather Soltroff

Although the word Boston may immediately conjure images of colonists dumping tea into the harbor, the city is steeped in so much more history – the unique neighborhoods exude antiquity and culture. The Massachusetts state capitol has a tremendous, rich past, and many influential, famous women have resided within the city limits. I have highlighted a few of the numerous interesting spots tourists can visit to interact with the past, hear captivating narratives, and discover heroic, innovative, women: abolitionists, poets, religious freedom fighters, philanthropists, aristocrats, artists, and suffragists.


 * [|Boston Public Library]** (Central Branch, 700 Boylston Street) – Built in 1848, the Boston Public Library (BPL) was the first in many areas. It was the first large free municipal library in the US, and the first public library to allow patrons to borrow books. It also developed the first children’s department and created the first formal storytelling programs. Marie Shedock, a professional storyteller credited with establishing storytelling as an art, visited the children’s room during her first American tour. The library has been an important cultural and educational establishment for women since its founding and many famous Bostonian women worked for the institution, including famed poet Louise Imogen Guiney, New England Round Table of Children’s Librarians founder Alice Jordan, and culturally diverse children’s storyteller Beryl Robinson. The central branch offers architectural and exhibit tours, which includes pieces created by female artists and works of famous Boston women. From Ocober 31st 2015 through March 27th 2016 the BPL Leventhal Map Center will host an exhibit, [|Women in Cartography: Five Centuries of Accomplishments], highlighting the women mapmakers, engravers, publishers, and educators from the 17th century to present day (Boston Public Library, 2015; Boston Women’s Heritage Trail (BWHT), n.d.).


 * [|Boston Women’s Memorial]** (Between Fairfield and Gloucester Streets) – Created in 2003 by Meredith Bergmann, this memorial honors three famous, revolutionary Boston women: Abigail Adams, political advisor to President John Adams and avid women’s activist; Lucy Stone, an suffragist and one of the first women college graduates; and Phillis Wheatley, a slave who became the first published African American poet. One of only three women-centric statues at the time of development, the artist created an unconventional, one of a kind piece. Rather than on pedestals high above the audience, the women are on ground level, approachable and utilizing their pedestals to create new masterpieces. Visitors can touch, examine, and interact with the life-like statues. Engraved on each pedestal are powerful, remarkable quotes encapsulating each woman’s beliefs and legacy (BWHT, n.d.; City of Boston, 2014).


 * [|Gibson House Museum]** (137 Beacon Street) – Catherine Gibson, a prominent Boston aristocrat, forged her own path. Widowed at 34 years old with two young boys she made the bold decision to relocate from the popular Beacon Hill to the upcoming area of Black Bay. She broke with customs of the time and decided rather than remarrying she would support herself and focus on finding a suitable match for her son. Thus, she selected, built, and purchased a beautiful four story home for her son, all without the assistance of a male counterpart. Her daughter-in-law, Rosamond Gibson, was a highly educated, charitable, admired woman of the community. A traditional Victorian lady of her time, she cared for her family, home, and community. During the Great Fire of 1872 she worked tirelessly through the night to save precious heirlooms and historical masterpieces from her mother’s home. Today the Gibson House is still in pristine condition and visitors can explore the service space and three majestic floors filled with traditional Victorian architecture and personal effects. The house remains as the two influential women designed it and guided tours offer visitors amusing stories and a glimpse into the daily lives of two aristocratic Victorian era women (BWHT, n.d.; Gibson House Museum, 2015).


 * [|Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum]** (25 Evans Way) – A lover of the arts, Isabella Stewart Gardner supported local artists, dancers, writers, actors, musicians, charities, and even sports teams. She traveled the world, immersing herself in other cultures and collecting remarkable, priceless pieces of work. Her dream was to share her collection with her community and provide the citizens of Boston with social and cultural enlightenment. Thus, she personally built the Gardner Museum, carefully overseeing its construction and designing the galleries herself. Rather than focusing just on European masterpieces she curated a distinctive style that blended styles, cultures, and time periods. The archives contain rare books, letters, gifts from famous authors and artists, and personal effects. The museum has a stunning garden, remarkable works from renowned artists including Rembrandt, and unique works purchased from Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. To this day the museum continues to be open to the public and relatively unaltered from Gardner’s original layout (BWHT, n.d.; Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, 2015).


 * [|Lewis and Harriet Hayden House]** (66 Phillips Street) – In 1844, Lewis and Harriet Hayden, both slaves, escaped the South and eventually settled down at 66 Phillips Street in Boston. Quickly becoming prominent figures in the black community and avid abolitionists, they worked with Harriet Tubman and the Underground Railroad and provided a safe haven for countless refugee slaves. The couple heroically stood up to bounty hunters and slave owners looking to reclaim their slaves. The house became a famous symbol of freedom prompting Harriet Beecher Stowe to visit and interview fugitives living at the premises while writing Uncle Tom’s Cabin. Upon her death, Harriet Hayden continued to give back to her community by funding an African American Harvard Medical School Scholarship, which is still in existence today. Although the house is not open to the public, there is a placard commemorating the Hayden’s accomplishments and it is only a few blocks from another significant historical location, the Museum of African American History (BWHT, n.d.;. Museum of African American History (MoAAH), 2015, National Parks Service, 2015).

The second museum building, the African American meeting house, is the oldest Black church in America and was a pivotal anti-slavery gathering location. In a time period where women were banned from publically speaking, Maria Stewart, a frequent church attendee, an abolitionist, and a suffragist became the first woman to speak before a mixed gender audience. Outspoken and unafraid she published numerous anti-slavery and political pamphlets. With the help of other women church goers, she founded the African-American Female Intelligence Agency, which often gathered at the meeting house. The all women’s club hosted lectures on current issues, and offered financial and moral support to the community, including services for fugitive slaves. Today the meeting house has been restored to its original glory and proudly hosts numerous famous works, letters, and artifacts from African American revolutionaries, including Maria Stewart’s 1833 farewell speech (BWHT, n.d.; MoAAH, 2015; National Women’s History Museum, n.d.).
 * [|Museum of African American History]** (46 Joy Street) – The largest African American History museum in New England, this impressive institution houses artifacts and exhibits documenting African American contributions to Boston. Women were integral from the beginning; it was founded by civil rights activist Sue Bailey Thurman and later directed by Ruth Batson, the Boston NAACP education committee chairperson. The museum includes the Abiel Smith School, built in 1834, which is the oldest public school for African American children and was a pivotal in the desegregation movement. In 1850, Sarah Robert’s father fought for her to attend five closer local public white schools but was denied due to the fact he could not prove Abiel Smith offered an inferior quality of education. This case laid the groundwork for the bill that ended Boston public school segregation in 1855.


 * [|State House Statues of Women Dissenters]** (Intersection of Beacon and Parks Streets) – On the Massachusetts State House grounds stand two important Boston statues. In 1922 the Anne Hutchinson Memorial Association and State Federation of Women’s Clubs commissioned and donated an Anne Hutchinson sculpture to the City of Boston. Located at the west wing, Anne stands strong, embracing her daughter in a loving hug, other hand on her heart, eyes cast upwards towards the heavens. Anne was banished from Boston because she believed that “good acts” defined a man or woman, only God (not the clergy) could grant deliverance, and began holding her own religious meetings. Her counterpart and friend, Mary Dyer, who held similar religious beliefs on salvation was banished twice from the city solely based on her religious choice to be a Quaker. Mary continually defied the authorities and upon her third return to Boston was publically hung. Located at the East Wing, pious Mary Dyer sits upon her pedestal in traditional Quaker attire, hands in her lap, a significant symbol of religious freedom (BWHT, n.d.; Gavin, n.d.).


 * [|The Public Gardens and Fountains by Women Sculptors]** (Beacon, Charles, and Arlington Streets) – The first public botanical garden in America underwent remodeling during the Victorian era. Within the park are five sculptures created by women. Donated in 1987 by the Friends of the Public Garden, the Make Way for the Ducklings sculpture, based on the popular Robert McCloskey’s children’s book by the same title, was created by Nancy Schön. Nancy encourages families to visit and interact with the eight small bronze ducklings dutifully following their mother. Anna Coleman Watts Ladd, one of Boston’s most famous women’s sculptors, was recognized for her work sculpting masks for wounded World War I veterans. Her fountain, entitled Triton Babies, which depicts Poseidon’s sons wrestling and playing with water, was created to make more art accessible to the public. Created by Lillian Swann Saarinen for the 1939 World’s Fair, Night or Bagheera’s Fountain, captures the powerful Jungle Book panther leaping towards an eagle. Mary E. Moore, a local resident created the lighthearted, Renaissance style Small Child hoping to portray the inquisitiveness children have while exploring the world. Nearby, a similar work of art, Boy and Bird Fountain, created by a local famous Jewish Russian immigrant, captures a young man curious about the natural world and interacting with it. (Alexander, 2007; Archives of American Art, 2015; BWHT, n.d.; Boston Art Commission, 2015; City of Boston, 2014; Friends of the Public Garden, n.d.; Jewish Women’s Archive, 2015; Schön, 2015).

If you are looking for a complete list of historical women sites in Boston feel free to check out the [|Boston Woman’s Heritage Trail]. The site provides an abundance of information including self-guided or tour-guided walking tours of Boston women’s history broken down by neighborhood.

**Sources**
 * Alexander, C. (2007). Faces of War. Smithsonian Magazine. [].
 * Archives of American Art. (2015). Lilian Swann Saarinen papers, 1920-1977. [].
 * Boston Art Commission. (2015). [].
 * Boston Public Library. (2015). [].
 * Boston Women’s Heritage Trail. (n.d.). [].
 * City of Boston. (2014). [].
 * Friends of the Public Garden. (n.d.). Sculptures and memorials. [].
 * Gavin, W. (n.d.). A tour of the grounds of the Massachusetts State House. Massachusetts State House. [].
 * Gibson House Museum. (2015). [].
 * Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. (2015). [].
 * Jewish Women's Archive. (2015)."War memorial by Bashka Paeff dedicated in Kittery, Maine." [].
 * Museum of African American History. (2015). [].
 * National Park Service. (2015). Lewis and Harriet Hayden House. [].
 * National Women’s History Museum. (n.d.). Women in the abolitionist movement: Historic sites in Boston. [].
 * Schön, N. (2015). [].