Mrs. Rowe’s Wharf: Female Waterfront Property Owners in Early-National Boston

This presentation offers some preliminary findings on the relationship between female waterfront property ownership and the rise of corporate-sponsored building projects in early-national Boston. Reconstructing the life and property holdings of Hannah Speakman Rowe, widow of merchant John Rowe, it considesr how the privatization of the city’s wharves and warehouses shaped women’s financial circumstances, as many women saw their homes, businesses, and livelihoods eclipsed by the forces of improvement. This research informs a chapter in a larger dissertation entitled “Spirit of Improvement: Construction, Conflict, and Community in Early-National Port Cities.”

This program was previously erroneously listed on December 15. We apologize for any inconvenience.