Protectors of the Home

Historically restricted to the domestic sphere, women were considered to be the moral protectors of the home throughout nineteenth- and twentieth-century America. This social construction largely prevented women from engaging in roles other than those of homemakers and mothers.

Historic preservation, however, was consistent with women's domestic role of protecting the home and thus gave them an opportunity to effect real change in saving the nation's important cultural sites.

"Protectors of the Home," part of The Past is Female digital exhibition space, presents the preservation stories of some of New York City's historic houses. Discover their compelling histories, and the influential women behind them, below.