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Meet Our Women

Take a walk with us and get to know the women who helped shape Boston. 

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Neighborhood
Topic
Era

Abiel Smith School/Museum of African American History, Sue Bailey Thurman and Ruth Batson

West End•
19th Century
Abolition, Civil Rights, Social Activism

African Meeting House

Beacon Hill•
19th Century
Abolition, Civil Rights, Social Activism

African Meeting House

West End•
19th Century
Abolition, Civil Rights, Social Activism

Albenia Martha Boole

East Boston•
19th Century
Business

Alice Bradley

Hyde Park•
19th Century
Education

American Academy of Arts and Sciences

Back Bay West•
19th Century
Science & Technology

Amy Brooks

Hyde Park•
19th Century
Arts & Culture

Anna Harris Smith (1843 – 1929)

Dorchester: Upham's Corner•
19th Century
Abolition, Civil Rights, Social Activism

Anne Whitney Studio

Beacon Hill•
19th Century
Arts & Culture

Annie Adams Fields’ Literary Salon

Beacon Hill•
19th Century
Arts & Culture

Annie McKay

South End•
19th Century
Medicine

Armeda Gibbs, Isabel Hyams, and Sarah Hyams

East Boston•
19th Century
Abolition, Civil Rights, Social Activism

Boston Center for the Arts

South End•
19th Century
Arts & Culture

Boston Public Library

Back Bay West•
19th Century
Arts & Culture

Boston Public Library; North End Union

North End•
19th Century
Arts & Culture

Boston School Committeewomen

Downtown•
19th Century
Education

Cedar Grove Cemetery—Home for Aged Colored Women Gravesites

Southern Dorchester•
19th Century
Abolition, Civil Rights, Social Activism

Chansonetta Stanley Emmons (1858 – 1937)

Southern Dorchester•
19th Century
Arts & Culture

Cordelia A. Payson

Hyde Park•
19th Century
Arts & Culture

Cordelia Harmon: The Boston Home (1822 – 1883)

Southern Dorchester•
19th Century
Medicine

Dorchester Woman’s Club: Clara Ripley (1855 – 1931) & Ella Whiton (1857 – 1932)

Southern Dorchester•
19th Century
Philanthropy

Dr. Marie Zakrzewska, New England Hospital for Women and Children

Chinatown•
19th Century
Medicine

Dress Reform Parlors and Milliners

Downtown•
19th Century
Business

Edmonia Lewis Studio

Downtown•
19th Century
Arts & Culture

Eleanor Prentiss Creesy and Mary Ann Brown Patten

East Boston•
19th Century
Arts & Culture

Elida Rumsey Fowle (1842 – 1919)

Dorchester: Upham's Corner•
19th Century
Medicine

Eliza Thayer Clapp (1811-1888)

Dorchester: Meeting House Hill•
19th Century
Arts & Culture

Elizabeth Hedge Webster

Hyde Park•
19th Century
Abolition, Civil Rights, Social Activism

Elizabeth Peabody

West End•
19th Century
Education

Elizabeth Peabody Book Shop

Chinatown•
19th Century
Arts & Culture

Elizabeth Peabody’s Kindergarten

Beacon Hill•
19th Century
Education

Elizabeth Stanton Chadbourne (1855 – 1930)

Dorchester: Upham's Corner•
19th Century
Business

Ella Frances Neale Boyd

Hyde Park•
19th Century
Education

Emilie Bethmann (1844 – 1928) & Freida Bethmann (1868 – 1951)

Southern Dorchester•
19th Century
Education

Emily Anna Porter Fifield (1838-1913)

Dorchester: Meeting House Hill•
19th Century
Education

Fanny Goldstein and Old West Church

West End•
19th Century
Education

Fanny Mason and Peabody Mason Music Foundation

Back Bay West•
19th Century
Arts & Culture

Federal Street Church

Downtown•
19th Century
Abolition, Civil Rights, Social Activism

Federal Street Theatre; Susanna Rowson and Deborah Sampson

Downtown•
18th Century
Arts & Culture

Frances Stern Nutrition Center

Chinatown•
19th Century
Medicine

Franklin Place and Home of Judith Sargent Murray

Downtown•
18th Century
Abolition, Civil Rights, Social Activism

Franklin Square House

South End•
19th Century
Arts & Culture

Free Home for Consumptives: Elizabeth A. Power

Dorchester: Upham's Corner•
19th Century
Medicine

Geraldine Pindell Trotter (1872 – 1918)

Dorchester: Upham's Corner•
19th Century
Abolition, Civil Rights, Social Activism

Gibson House Museum

Back Bay East•
19th Century
Arts & Culture

Girls’ High and Girls’ Latin School

South End•
19th Century
Education

Grace Susan Nies Fletcher (1885 – 1991)

Southern Dorchester•
19th Century
Arts & Culture

Harriet Hayden, Ellen Craft, Hayden House

West End•
19th Century
Abolition, Civil Rights, Social Activism

Harriet Hemenway and the Massachusetts Audubon Society

Back Bay East•
19th Century
Abolition, Civil Rights, Social Activism

Harriette Newell Woods Baker (1815 – 1893)

Southern Dorchester•
19th Century
Arts & Culture

Hayden House, Ellen Craft, Harriet Hayden

Beacon Hill•
19th Century
Abolition, Civil Rights, Social Activism

Hebrew Children’s Home (Hecht House) Ladies Helping Hand

Southern Dorchester•
19th Century
Education

Hebrew Industrial School

North End•
19th Century
Education

Helen Storrow, Lina Hecht, Golde Bamber, Eva White, Ruth Roman West End House

West End•
19th Century
Arts & Culture

Hepzibah Clarke Swan (1757 – 1825)

Dorchester: Upham's Corner•
18th Century
Philanthropy

Hepzibah Clarke Swan and Julia Ward Howe

Beacon Hill•
19th Century
Arts & Culture

Home and Office: Dr. Lucy Sewall, Dr. Susan Dimock

Chinatown•
19th Century
Medicine

Home for Aged Colored Women

Beacon Hill•
19th Century
Abolition, Civil Rights, Social Activism

Home of Amy Beach

Back Bay East•
19th Century
Arts & Culture

Home of Bashka Paeff

Beacon Hill•
19th Century
Arts & Culture

Home of Bashka Paeff

West End•
19th Century
Arts & Culture

Home of Dr. Fanny Berlin

Roxbury•
19th Century
Medicine

Home of Ednah Dow Cheney

Jamaica Plain•
19th Century
Abolition, Civil Rights, Social Activism

Home of Ellen Swallow Richards

Jamaica Plain•
19th Century
Education

Home of Elsie Phelan Larsen (1881 – 1915)

Southern Dorchester•
19th Century
Arts & Culture

Home of Estella Crosby

South End•
19th Century
Abolition, Civil Rights, Social Activism

Home of Gladys Edson Locke

Southern Dorchester•
19th Century
Arts & Culture

Home of Golde Bamber

Roxbury•
19th Century
Abolition, Civil Rights, Social Activism

Home of Julia Ward Howe

Back Bay East•
19th Century
Abolition, Civil Rights, Social Activism

Home of Louisa May Alcott

Beacon Hill•
19th Century
Abolition, Civil Rights, Social Activism

Home of Louisa May Alcott

West End•
19th Century
Arts & Culture

Home of Louise Chandler Moulton

South End•
19th Century
Arts & Culture

Home of Lucretia Crocker

South End•
19th Century
Education

Home of Lucy Miller Mitchell

Roxbury•
19th Century
Abolition, Civil Rights, Social Activism

Home of Margaret Deland

Beacon Hill•
19th Century
Arts & Culture

Home of Margaret Fuller and School

Jamaica Plain•
19th Century
Abolition, Civil Rights, Social Activism

Home of Marie Zakrzewska

Jamaica Plain•
19th Century
Medicine

Home of Mary Emilda Curley and School

Jamaica Plain•
19th Century
Government & Public Service

Home of Maud Cuney Hare

Jamaica Plain•
19th Century
Arts & Culture

Home of Mother Mary Joseph Rogers

Jamaica Plain•
19th Century
Religion

Home of Rebecca Lee Crumpler

Beacon Hill•
19th Century
Education

Home of Rebecca Lee Crumpler

West End•
19th Century
Education

Home of Rose Finkelstein Norwood

Jamaica Plain•
19th Century
Abolition, Civil Rights, Social Activism

Home of Sarah Choate Sears

Back Bay East•
19th Century
Arts & Culture

Home of Senda Berenson

West End•
19th Century
Arts & Culture

Home of Sophie Tucker

North End•
19th Century
Arts & Culture

Home of Susan Paul

Beacon Hill•
19th Century
Abolition, Civil Rights, Social Activism

Home of Susan Walker FitzGerald

Jamaica Plain•
19th Century
Abolition, Civil Rights, Social Activism

Home of Susie King Taylor

South End•
19th Century
Abolition, Civil Rights, Social Activism

Industrial School for Girls

Southern Dorchester•
19th Century
Education

Irish Famine Memorial and Annie Sullivan

Downtown•
19th Century
Arts & Culture

Isabel Hayes Chapin Barrows (1845 – 1913)

Dorchester: Upham's Corner•
19th Century
Abolition, Civil Rights, Social Activism

Jamaica Pond – Ellen Swallow Richards

Jamaica Plain•
19th Century
Education

Jennie Loitman Barron and Annie Londonderry

West End•
19th Century
Arts & Culture

Josephine Preston Peabody (1874 – 1922)

Southern Dorchester•
19th Century
Arts & Culture

Josephine St. Pierre Ruffin, Florida Ruffin Ridley, and The Woman’s Era Club

Beacon Hill•
19th Century
Abolition, Civil Rights, Social Activism

Judith Winsor Smith

East Boston•
19th Century
Abolition, Civil Rights, Social Activism

Judith Winsor Smith

Jamaica Plain•
19th Century
Abolition, Civil Rights, Social Activism

Julia Knowlton Dyer (1829 – 1907)

Dorchester: Upham's Corner•
19th Century
Philanthropy

Julie Herne (1880 – 1955) & Chrystal Herne (1883 – 1950)

Southern Dorchester•
19th Century
Arts & Culture

Junior League of Boston

Back Bay West•
19th Century
Arts & Culture

Kittie Knox

West End•
19th Century
Abolition, Civil Rights, Social Activism

Louisa May Alcott School and Alcott residences

South End•
19th Century
Arts & Culture

Louise Chamberlain Purington (1844- 1916) & Ella Gilbert Ives (1847 – 1913)

Southern Dorchester•
19th Century
Medicine

Lucy Anne Kirk (1859 – 1934)

Dorchester: Upham's Corner•
19th Century
Medicine

Lucy Stone

Jamaica Plain•
19th Century
Abolition, Civil Rights, Social Activism

Lucy Stone (1818 – 1893) & Alice Stone Blackwell (1857 – 1950)

Southern Dorchester•
19th Century
Abolition, Civil Rights, Social Activism

Maria Miller Stewart Plaque

West End•
19th Century
Abolition, Civil Rights, Social Activism

Maria Susanna Cummins (1827-1866)

Dorchester: Meeting House Hill•
19th Century
Arts & Culture

Mariners House

North End•
19th Century
Arts & Culture

Martha Dana Shepard (1842-1914)

Dorchester: Meeting House Hill•
19th Century
Arts & Culture

Martha Rand Morse May (1827-1894), Martha May Eliot (1891-1978) and Abigail Adams Eliot (1892-1992)

Dorchester: Meeting House Hill•
19th Century
Education

Mary Baker Eddy, Massachusetts Metaphysical College

South End•
19th Century
Arts & Culture

Mary Eliza Mahoney

West End•
19th Century
Abolition, Civil Rights, Social Activism

Mary Eliza Mahoney Dialysis Center

Roxbury•
19th Century
Medicine

Mary Hannah Hanchett Hunt

Hyde Park•
19th Century
Education

Mary Hannah Hanchett Hunt (1830 – 1906)

Dorchester: Upham's Corner•
19th Century
Abolition, Civil Rights, Social Activism

Mary Mildred Williams

Hyde Park•
19th Century
Abolition, Civil Rights, Social Activism

Mary Vincent, Vincent Club

Back Bay East•
19th Century
Medicine

Mary Whitmarsh (1853 – 1943)

Southern Dorchester•
19th Century
Business

Massachusetts Normal Art School Site

Back Bay West•
19th Century
Arts & Culture

Mehitable Ewins Sunderland

Hyde Park•
19th Century
Abolition, Civil Rights, Social Activism

Mildred Davenport’s Silver Box Studio

South End•
19th Century
Arts & Culture

Museum of African American History and Abiel Smith School

Beacon Hill•
19th Century
Abolition, Civil Rights, Social Activism

Museum of Natural History

Back Bay West•
19th Century
Science & Technology

Neponset Drying Works Fire

Southern Dorchester•
19th Century
Business

New England Female Medical College, now the Boston University School of Medicine

South End•
19th Century
Education

North Bennet Street School

North End•
19th Century
Education

Office of Salome Merritt

Beacon Hill•
19th Century
Medicine

Old South Meeting House and Phillis Wheatley

Downtown•
18th Century
Religion

Olive Gertrude Homans

Hyde Park•
19th Century
Arts & Culture

Pauline Agassiz Shaw Plaque and Home

Jamaica Plain•
19th Century
Education

Pauline Frederick (1883 – 1938)

Southern Dorchester•
19th Century
Arts & Culture

Plaques to North End Women

North End•
17th Century
Arts & Culture

Poto Family Grocery Store; Clementina Poto Langone; Leonarda Corlito and Frances LoRusso

North End•
19th Century
Business

Protest Meetings and Faneuil Hall

Downtown•
19th Century
Abolition, Civil Rights, Social Activism

Puffers Building

West End•
19th Century
Business

Quincy School

Chinatown•
19th Century
Education

Rebecca Lee Crumpler

Hyde Park•
19th Century
Medicine

Rice School and Boston Normal School (former)

South End•
19th Century
Education

Rogers Building, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Back Bay West•
19th Century
Education

Rose Finkelstein Norwood 40 Howland Street

Roxbury•
19th Century
Abolition, Civil Rights, Social Activism

Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy (1890 – 1995)

Southern Dorchester•
19th Century
Philanthropy

Rose Kennedy Greenway

North End•
19th Century
Government & Public Service

Roxana Hayward Vivian

Hyde Park•
19th Century
Education

Ruth Mowry Brown

Hyde Park•
19th Century
Education

Sarah Baker (1805 – 1866)

Dorchester: Upham's Corner•
19th Century
Business

Sarah Moore Grimké and Angelina Grimké Weld

Hyde Park•
19th Century
Abolition, Civil Rights, Social Activism

Sarah Parker Remond and The Howard Athenæum

Downtown•
19th Century
Abolition, Civil Rights, Social Activism

Saunders and Beach Academy

Dorchester: Meeting House Hill•
19th Century
Education

Site of Boffin’s Bower

Chinatown•
19th Century
Philanthropy

Site of Denison House

Chinatown•
19th Century
Abolition, Civil Rights, Social Activism

Site of Home of Isabella Stewart Gardner

Back Bay East•
19th Century
Philanthropy

Site of Women’s Educational and Industrial Union

Chinatown•
19th Century
Abolition, Civil Rights, Social Activism

Site of YWCA “Working Girls Home”

Chinatown•
19th Century
Philanthropy

South End House and Children’s Art Centre

South End•
19th Century
Arts & Culture

Spiritualist Temple and Exeter Street Theater

Back Bay West•
19th Century
Arts & Culture

St. Joseph’s Church

West End•
19th Century
Religion

St. Leonard’s Church

North End•
19th Century
Religion

St. Margaret’s Convent

Beacon Hill•
19th Century
Medicine

St. Stephen’s Church

North End•
19th Century
Religion

Susan Charter Humphrey (ca. 1823-1875)

Dorchester: Meeting House Hill•
19th Century
Business

Susan Fessenden (1840 – 1932)

Southern Dorchester•
19th Century
Abolition, Civil Rights, Social Activism

Temple Mishkan Tefila: The Synagogue on the Hill

Roxbury•
19th Century
Religion

The Boston Athenæum

Downtown•
19th Century
Education

The Copley Society of Art

Back Bay West•
19th Century
Arts & Culture

The League of Women for Community Service

South End•
19th Century
Abolition, Civil Rights, Social Activism

The Massachusetts State House

Downtown•
19th Century
Abolition, Civil Rights, Social Activism

The Public Garden and Fountains by Women Sculptors

Back Bay East•
19th Century
Arts & Culture

The Society of Arts and Crafts

Back Bay West•
19th Century
Arts & Culture

The Tuesday Club

Jamaica Plain•
19th Century
Arts & Culture

The Winsor School, Schools for Girls

Back Bay East•
19th Century
Education

The Women’s Service Club of Boston

South End•
19th Century
Abolition, Civil Rights, Social Activism

Tremont Temple Women Lecturers

Downtown•
19th Century
Abolition, Civil Rights, Social Activism

Trinity Church & Parish House: Stained Glass by Woman Artists

Back Bay West•
19th Century
Arts & Culture

Union United Methodist Church

South End•
19th Century
Abolition, Civil Rights, Social Activism

View of Massachusetts General Hospital, Linda Richards, Mary Eliza Mahoney

Beacon Hill•
19th Century
Medicine

Virginia Isaacs Trotter

Hyde Park•
19th Century
Abolition, Civil Rights, Social Activism

Walter Baker & Company

Southern Dorchester•
19th Century
Business

William Monroe Trotter School: Geraldine Pindell Trotter and Maude Trotter Steward

Roxbury•
19th Century
Education

Woman’s Journal and 9 to 5 Office Workers’ Union

Downtown•
19th Century
Abolition, Civil Rights, Social Activism

Women Vote: March 7, 1870

Hyde Park•
19th Century
Abolition, Civil Rights, Social Activism

Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom: Florence Hope Luscomb and Emily Greene Balch

Back Bay East•
19th Century
Abolition, Civil Rights, Social Activism

Young Men’s Hebrew Association (YMHA) and Lina Frank Hecht

Roxbury•
19th Century
Philanthropy

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Era