Uncovering Women's History Sites

http://blog.preservationleadershipforum.org/2014/21/women-history-sites/#.U9aBfP1dWgs

The Modjeska M. Simkins House
Columbia, South Carolina
nps.gov

Hello Everyone:

Women's history been relegated to the margins of general history. However, how many of you can name a site of women's history? I'm pretty sure the answer is none, except, maybe places of famous women like Susan B. Anthony.  The challenge of finding sites of women's history is posed by Karen Nickless in a recent post for the Preservation Leadership Forum titled, "Find the Women: Where Are the Women's History Sites."  Some places, such as the textile mill in Lowell, Massachusetts where women made their presence known in the workplace, are easy to find.  Others, not so much but they're out there waiting to be discovered and brought into the light of day.

Historic Textile Mill
Lowell, Massachusetts
nps.gov

 The first challenge is locating these places.  If    you drive around your community looking for  women-centric sites, you'll have a difficult time  identifying them from looking through your  windshield.  The example of the textile factory  in Lowell is not a particularly female-oriented  site because men were employed there as well.  Houses where significant (not famous) women  lived look identical to the other houses in the  neighborhood.  Women's sites hide in plain  sight.  Most often, you'll only learn about them  through archival research or oral history.

Pond Farm
Russian River Valley, California
Home and studio of Marguerite Wildenhain
savingplaces.org

 The House of Modjeska Monteith Simkins in  Columbia, South Carolina is another example    of hidden women's history.  Modjeska  Monteith Simkins was in Columbia, South  Carolina.  Ms. Simkins was a leader in African  American public health.  In 1931, Ms. Simkins  entered the public health profession as the  Director of Negro Work for the South Carolina  Tuberculosis.  In 1942, Ms. Simkins lost her postion with the Tuberculosis Association because of her increased involvement with the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.  As secretary of the NAACP, Ms. Simkins worked with the state of South Briggs v. Elliot case with the South Carolina federal court, regarding the equalization of Clarendon County Schools.

Cigar Factory
Charleston, South Carolina
en.wikipedia.org 

A cigar factory is not the first place you'd think of when looking for historical sites but the Cigar Factory in Charleston is another women's history site.  The factory was the site of a significant strike in 1945, it was only later that historians began to understand it as a women's site.  The majority of the strikers were African American women who introduced the twentieth century hymn "We Shall Overcome" to the Civil Rights movement.

One of the core values of the National Trust is diversity.  This value is applied when the Trust chooses its National Treasures.  The Trust believes that National Treasures should always reflect the past of all American so that the entire breadth of the American experience, in a constant state of change, reflects the combined narrative of all of the facet of our history.  Although every National Treasure site can be viewed as a women's site, Karen Nickless gives two noteworthy examples:

Pond Farm guest house
Russian River Valley, California
Home and studio of Marguerite Wildenhain
savingplaces.org

The Pond Farm in the Russian River Valley in Northern California.  This was the home and studio of American ceramic artist Marguerite Wildenhain.  Marguerite Wildenhain (neé Friedlaender) was a French-born ceramicist who studied at the Bauhaus.  Both she and her husband, Franz Wildenhain, emigrated to the United States in 1933 after the National Socialists came to power. In the United States, Ms. Wildenhain she taught at the Oakland School of Arts and Crafts, the Appalachian Institute, and Black Mountain College.  She also published three books: Pottery: Form and Expression; The Invisible Core: A Potter's Life and Thoughts and That We Look and See: An Admirer Looks at the Indians.  Pond Farm is currently a California State Park, however it is currently under threat of  neglect and lack of funding

Villa Lewaro
Irvington, New York
en.wikipedia.org

Our second example is Villa Lewaro in Irvington, New York.  This palatial home is also known as the residence of Anne E. Poth but is best known as the home of Madam C.J. Walker between 1918 and 1919.  Madam C.J. Walker is believed to be the first self-made African American female millionaire who made her fortune from a successful line of hair and beauty products for African American women.  The house was built in the Italian Renaissance style by Vertner Tandy.  The name Villa Lewaro was coined by the singer Enrico Caruso and is a combination of the first two letters of Madam Walker daughter's name Lelia Walker Robinson.

The National Trust for Historic Preservation is actively looking for other sites of women-centric history.  To this end, the Trust has joined forces with the National Collaboration for Women's History sites to identify, save, and educate the public about American women's history.  This collaboration will include evaluating and nominating historic sites that are possible National Treasures and National Historic Landmarks as well as working to raise awareness of preservation of these sites.  The NCHWS as a long history of locating women's sites, publishing guides and interpreting these sites.  Their expertise, along with the Trust, will most definitely enrich the breadth and depth of American history.  You can join the "treasure hunt" and who knows, you could uncover a long lost gem.