The Millinery Shop in Colonial Wiliamsburg
Story Description:
Step back in time, along the main street of Colonial Williamsburg, where a quaint 18th-century brick building holds many secrets of colonial fashion. In our latest Quest Capsule, we explore a captivating trail of history that unveils the Margaret Hunter Millinery Shop, and the lives of three sought-after milliners who ran business in Colonial Williamsburg.
DISCLAIMER: This story features historical locations. Quest Capsule is not affiliated with or endorsed by related organizations. Content is for educational and storytelling purposes and free for everyone to view.
More Story Details:
The documentary will take viewers on a journey of discovery, uncovering the forgotten past of Margaret Hunter, her sister Jane Hunter (Charlton), as well as one of Williamsburg’s more assertive businesswomen of her time, Catherine Rathell.
The story resurrects their voices through the business advertisements they took out in the Virginia Gazette, goes inside Margaret Hunter’s old Millinery Shop to get a close-up look at milliners and mantua-makers in action, provides details on the historic origins of the trade, and plenty of other interesting exploration.
Through meticulous research and the examination of old land reports, deeds, and articles…clues from the past, and present, allow us to trace shop locations they were thought to have worked from as their business operations evolved over time.
We track down these colonial lots and attempt to unravel the sometimes confusing and mysterious backstories they present. Margaret Hunter’s MIllinery Shop was not just a place of hat & dress-making but a hub of entrepreneurial spirit, run by enterprising female business owners from the 18th century.
As the story unfolds, we also meet another dynamic milliner, Catherine Rathall. We take a look at her colorful contributions to the colonial millinery trade in early Virginia, which helps to reveal the challenging world in which these women thrived.
The Millinery Shop in Colonial Williamsburg attempts to shed light on the significance of these unsung heroines and their role in shaping the cultural and economic landscape of the mid to late 1700s.
Join us on another exciting journey into the past, to hear and visualize some of the not-as-well-known stories from Margaret Hunter’s Millinery Shop and the remarkable 18th-century female artisans who perfected the millinery trade in Colonial Williamsburg.