DONNA J. SEIFERT from the street, there were stairs leading to the second floor, and to the right was the doorway to the parlor, which was hung with heavy silk cord. Within Site of the White House: The parlor was comfortably furnished with a red The Archaeology of velvet couch and three or four chairs and oil lamps or gas lights. In the hall or parlor was a “stand Working Women with a looking glass from the knees up” (a Victo- rian hallstand). The madam, a woman of about 40, well dressed and bejeweled, invited the boy and ABSTRACT the fighter into the parlor. Six young women came down. They were skimpily dressed and wore eye Gender roles define appropriate behavior for members of makeup and rouge (Joseph E. Scheele 1989, pers. society according to sex and age, and appropriate behavior comm.). These were working women of Hooker’s includes appropriate work. The relationship between con- Division. sumer behavior, household composition, and household function in turn-of-the-century Washington, D.C., is eluci- dated by understanding women’s work. Archaeological ex- cavations in downtown Washington, D.C.’s, Federal Tri- Introduction angle produced artifact collections from two types of households, working-class households and brothels. For Washington, D.C. ’s, red-light district from the working-class wives, the home was the workplace, and 1890s to 1914 was known as Hooker’s Division. many of these women participated in both paid and unpaid labor without going out to work. Turn-of-the-centurybroth- Historic Hooker’s Division was the west end of els were also both workplace and home, but brothels were modern Washington, D.C.’s, Federal Triangle, the organized as commercial institutions, not social units. Com- triangle formed by Pennsylvania Avenue, Consti- parisons of artifact assemblages from a brothel and two tution Avenue, and 15th Street. The White House working-class households in the neighborhood historically and the Treasury are a few blocks to the known as Hooker’s Division and assemblages from two U.S. other Washington, D.C., neighborhoods indicate different northwest, the Capitol is to the southeast, and the consumer patterns; these patterns reflect differences in Smithsonian Mall is across Constitution Avenue, household composition and household function. to the south. Like many 19th-century urban cen- ters, Washington, D.C., constrained but tolerated the “Social Evil” within walking distance of the Hooker’s Division, 1913 business district: Hooker’s Division was conve- niently located between the executive and legisla- There was a house off Ohio Avenue I visited with a fighter tive seats of the federal government, with down- from New York City staying at a house in Georgetown D.C. (my cousin’s house). This Italian fighter took me (about 13 town Washington, D.C., just across Pennsylvania years old) after a wrestling match around the corner. The Avenue (Figure 1). match was between a very famous man at that time, Joe During the Civil War, the Division was known Turner & some man; nobody could beat him. Turner won. for its saloons and brothels, but for most of the The wrestling match was a block on Penn. Ave., a block 19th century, the Division was a working-class from 9th Street in a large arena at that time. The Brothel house was on a street facing East, 3 stories neighborhood of households composed of wage la- high, six girls, a Madam; all pretty to me. The fighter borers and their families and boarders. From the picked one & took her out of the room to the stairs to the 1860s to the 188Os, prostitutes in the neighborhood 2nd floor, I guess, as I sat in the living room with a couple lived in brothels or as boarders in working-class of the girls, which gave me a ginger Ale till the fighter came households. By 1900, however, the majority of the back; we took the trolley on Penn. Ave. home to George- town (Joseph E. Scheele 1989, pers. comm.). households in the neighborhood were brothels like the one which 13-year-old Joseph Scheele visited Joe Scheele further described the house he went in 1913. Excavations in historic Hooker’s Division to with the fighter. Directly in front of the entrance presented an opportunity to study the history and THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF WORKING WOMEN 83

FIGURE 1 Location of the project area in historic Hooker’s Division and modern Federal Triangle, Northwest Wash- ington, D.C. (USGS 1983).

archaeology of the national capital’s red-light dis- ton, D.C., neighborhoods reveals striking differ- trict at the turn of the century. ences in consumer patterns, differences related to This paper examines archaeological assem- household composition and function. blages from turn-of-the-century households in The brothel is a distinctive type of household, Hooker’s Division. The brothel assemblage re- composed of boarding women who live together in flects the consumer behavior of the household’s their workplace. The brothel differs from other occupants, the madam and resident prostitutes. boardinghouses, where boarders go out to work. Comparison of the brothel assemblage with con- The brothel also differs from the working-class temporary working-class household assemblages family household, which is also workplace and from Hooker’s Division and two other Washing- residence for women: members of the brothel 84 HISTORICAL ARCHAEOLOGY, VOLUME 25 household are not kin, and reproduction of society and brothels. Data from census records were col- is not a function of the brothel household. The lected for a larger sample of house lots which in- function of the brothel is to provide a service for cluded all excavated house lots as well as unexca- the profit of the provider, the manager, and the vated house lots facing Ohio Avenue, 13% Street, owner. The social component of brothel life was and C Street. Information from other primary important to the residents, but peripheral to the sources, including newspapers, city directories, function of the turn-of-the-century brothel as the general assessments, and historic maps, was used institution of commercialized sex. to identify occupants and household types (Fig- Working-class women also worked at home, in ure 2). both paid and unpaid labor. Most of the work of The archaeological assemblages reflect the con- homemaking was devoted to the care of the family. sumer choices made by the occupants of each type To contribute to the family income without going of household. The study of these choices, directed out to work, women did piecework at home or took by economic resources, household requirements, in laundry, sewing, and boarders. Although such and individual taste, contributes to understanding work had a commercial component, it functioned the lives of working women in turn-of-the-century to maintain the ideal of the family home. Washington, D. C. The relationship between consumer behavior, household composition, and household function in turn-of-the-century Washington, D.C., is eluci- The Cultural Construction of dated by understanding women’s work. By con- Gender and Work sidering women, work, and income in the context of industrial capitalism and culturally defined gen- Gender roles define appropriate behavior for der roles, the consumer patterns of brothels and members of society according to their sex and age. working-class households make sense. These roles are considered natural, but they are Gender roles are culturally prescribed behavior cultural constructs. Although appropriate female patterns. Prescribed behavior includes appropriate behavior includes bearing children, the complex of work, but the definition of appropriate work is behavior comprising the gender role goes far be- complicated by conflicting systems of valuing yond behavior dictated by physiology (Matthaei work. In the context of marriage, a woman’s ac- 1982:6-7; Jacobs and Roberts 1989:439). Age is tivity as sexual partner and her domestic labor defined by years as well as social maturity, mea- within the household are components of a social sured in terms of marital status. In American cul- relationship; however, in the context of prostitu- ture at the end of the 19th century, gender roles of tion, a woman’s activity as sexual partner is her adult men and women were constructed as com- labor and is a component of a commercial relation- plementary and separate: men were providers, em- ship. While the married woman’s activities may be ployed in productive wage labor in the public, in- highly valued socially, the prostitute’s activities dustrial sphere; women were homemakers, are highly valued commercially, and she is highly devoted to unpaid labor in the private, domestic paid for her labor. Nevertheless, the working-class sphere. Men’s work involved commodity produc- wife and the prostitute are each involved in activ- tion for exchange on the open market; women’s ities considered essentially female. For working- work involved the consumption of products, pro- class women, gender roles had significant eco- duction of goods for use, and the reproduction of nomic consequences. Decisions about work which society by bearing and socializing the next gener- affected consumption are reflected in the archaeo- ation (Hayden 1982:3, 13; Matthaei 1982:106, logical record. 114-115). Full adult status was achieved by mar- The archaeological investigations at Hooker’s rying and maintaining a family. A man who could Division sampled deposits from 10 house lots; the not support his family financially fell short of true sample included both working-class households manhood; a woman who did not devote her ener- THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF WORKING WOMEN 85

FIGURE 2. Detail of the 1903 Sanborn Fire insurance Map showing house lots included in the census sample and excavated sample

gies to the home and family compromised her Men’s work and women’s work has less to do with womanhood (Matthaei 1982:36, 51, 105, 121; cf. actual physical tasks than the social meaning of Richardson 1972[1905]:266-267). These comple- activities (Matthaei 1982:34). The separate spheres mentary gender roles were valued and realized by of men’s and women’s work, which developed the middle class; however, native-born, immi- with the transfer of production for the market from grant, and African-American working-class people the family business to the factory, accentuated the accepted and realized the middle-class version of distinction between workplace and home (Hayden gender roles to varying degrees. For many, the low 1982:13; Matthaei 1982:97, 102-103). Because wages paid to workers precluded the ideal of the the roles were complementary, the loss of one husband-provider and wife-homemaker. Race, member of the complement presented problems. ethnicity, ability, and family cycle all affected the Remarriage or residence with other relatives were extent to which working-class men and women acceptable solutions. A man who lost his wife participated in the ideal family household (Hayden could hire a woman to provide homemaking ser- 1982:21; Matthaei 1982:120). vices for him. A woman who lost her husband was The appropriate behavior defined by gender in a more difficult position. She could not hire a roles includes definitions of appropriate work. provider, but had to take on that role herself (Mat- 86 HISTORICAL ARCHAEOLOGY, VOLUME 25 thaei 1982:34). A common solution was to hire out unlike middle-class families, which considered as a homemaker for strangers (as a housekeeper or children little individuals to be developed and so- domestic servant). However, homemaking for oth- cialized for productive adult lives (Matthaei 1982: ers meant some loss of status as a social adult, for 123, 126). Wage labor for working-class children only as mistress of her own home was a woman a was, after all, appropriate training for adult life, true social adult (Matthaei 1982:8). and children’s wages often were essential to main- There were several strategies used by women to tain a minimal standard of living. Furthermore, by maintain the primary position of homemaker for sending sons and daughters out to work, working- the family when there was no male provider or the class families were able to keep the homemaker at provider could not adequately support the family home (Matthaei 1982:123, 143; Bose 1984:489- on his wages, a common situation for working- 490; Mintz and Kellogg 1989:95). Many working- class families with dependent children. Through class families relied on multiple income sources to her thrift and industry, the homemaker could limit make ends meet. expenditures for commodities. Since the home- Although families were more likely to send sons maker generally managed the family budget, she out to work, wage labor was a common part of limited consumption of purchased goods and sub- adolescence for working-class daughters (Matthaei stituted homemade products (Matthaei 1982:124- 1982:141, 148). Wage labor in service of the fam- 125, 133;Peiss 1987:103; Mintz and Kellogg 1988: ily was appropriate behavior for daughters, who 89). In addition to saving money, the working-class usually turned over all or most of their wages to the wife could contribute to the family income in sev- head of household (sons often had more control eral ways. She could work in the family business, over their earnings) (Matthaei 1982:148-149). Al- particularly if the business and residence were lo- though some young working women worked to cated in the same building (Matthaei 1982:65). Al- earn money for clothing, leisure activities, or an though few working-class families owned busi- education, most were self supporting or contribut- nesses at the turn of the century, a homemaker ing to the support of dependent children or mothers could earn income working for a factory by doing (Matthaei 1982: 146-147; Weiner 1985:26; Turbin piecework at home (called put-out work). She could 1987:50-53). do homemaking tasks for others in her own home By the turn of the century, about one-third of by taking in laundry or sewing or taking in boarders urban working women were self supporting, sin- (Matthaei 1982:125-126). Boarders were a com- gle, and living alone (Weiner 1985:13, 19). As mon source of income in urban working-class young women entered the labor force in greater households, including those in Hooker’s Division numbers, there was increasing public concern for (U.S. Bureau of Census [USBC] 1880). Boarders, their physical well-being. In particular, wage labor usually single wage-laborers, paid for room, meals, was seen as unfitting the young woman for her and other services (such as laundering linens and ultimate role as wife and mother (Weiner 1985:33, clothing) provided by the woman of the house. 44). Her years as a working woman were seen as a Boarding with a family was a common experience stage of life to be left behind when she married and for young workers who came to the city from rural started her own family (Matthaei 1982:150). It was areas or from abroad, and taking in boarders al- widely believed that traits acquired, particularly as lowed the homemaker to remain in the home, doing a result of factory work, would be inherited by work appropriate to her role while contributing to children, producing a generation of debilitated the family income (Strasser 1982:146, 152-155; children (Weiner 1985:38). Mintz and Kellogg 1989:89). Concern for the working woman also extended Another means of adding to the family income to her moral well-being. Reports on women and was to send older children out to work. Working- work from the turn of the century indicate that class families considered children little workers (as employment in factories, shops, offices, and do- had families in the 18th and early 19th centuries), mestic service paid low wages and exposed women THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF WORKING WOMEN 87 to sexual harassment. Domestic service was espe- mise her reputation, but working-class people ac- cially hazardous, because men in the household cepted a fluid definition of sexual respectability, in frequently demanded sexual favors (Rosen 1982: striking contrast to the middle-class requirement of 149, 151, 161; Morton 1985:455). Women in de- female chastity (Peiss 1990:164). Unlike the pros- partment stores were advised to find a gentleman titute, who received money, the charity girl ac- friend to purchase the clothing they should wear on cepted gifts; however, it may have been a short the job but could not afford on their wages (Peiss step from charity girl to occasional prostitute in 1990:160). Although employers insisted that the times of financial hardship (Rosen 1982:144). For working-woman’s income paid for luxuries a working-class woman facing financial crisis, (Weiner 1985:26), reformers recognized the rela- prostitution may have been the only way a woman tionship between low wages and prostitution could dramatically increase her income (Rosen (Weiner 1985:74). Throughout the 19th century, 1982:148-149). wages for women factory workers were about one- Economic factors were frequently cited by pros- half those of men (Weiner 1985:25). In the 1880s, titutes themselves when asked about their reasons urban women workers earned an average of $5.68 for entering prostitution. Low wages, sudden per week; average earnings are reduced to $5.24 change in family income, and desire for upward when lost time due to layoffs and illness are fig- social mobility were common considerations for ured in the computation. However, the average women who chose prostitution (Rosen 1982:145- cost of living for a self-supporting woman was 147). While a woman working in a shop or factory $5.51, including housing, food, clothing, support earned about $6.00 per week, which barely cov- of dependents, and other expenses (Weiner 1985: ered her expenses, a prostitute could expect to earn 25). A 1916 Department of Labor report estimated $40 to $50 per week, and much more in some that a young working woman needed $3.80 for cities. Even with the expenses for clothing, cos- shelter, $.38 for clothing, and $1.49 for carfare. metics, and medical treatment, a prostitute living Average weekly wages for department store and in a brothel enjoyed a much higher standard of factory workers were $6.67, but most authorities living, which included regular meals and even the agreed that a working woman needed a weekly services of a maid in the better houses (Rosen wage of $9.00, particularly if she was living alone. 1982:157). Considering the conditions of life for Low wages for women were justified by the indus- the working class, a life which promised the ma- trialists’ argument that women’s wages merely terial conditions and comforts enjoyed by the mid- supplemented household income, because their dle class was clearly attractive (Cowan 1983:154- workers were supported by husbands or fathers 172). (Rosen 1982:147). Although many women work- Prostitution was a consequence of ruin for the ers lived with family members, their income was working-class woman faced with family economic essential to the maintenance of the modest standard crisis, such as loss of the male provider through of living experienced by working-class families death, desertion, or disability. For a young widow (Turbin 1987:51-55). Self-supporting working or adolescent daughter who suddenly needed to women regularly denied themselves food or cloth- support herself and dependents, prostitution was a ing to make ends meet (Weiner 1985:77). way of getting by, a way of avoiding destitution Young working women often relied on male without resorting to charity (Stansell 1986:175- friends to pay for leisure activities and gifts of 176). During the mid-19th century, it was possible clothing beyond what they could afford on their for a working-class women to leave prostitution, own income (Weiner 1985:26, 77; Peiss 1986:54, return to respectable society, and marry, because 1987:110, 1990:59). Treating assumed reciproca- the working class, unlike the middle class, was tion, usually in the form of sexual favors (Peiss willing to judge female vice and virtue on the basis 1986:108-109). A woman involved in such a re- of the situation rather than against an absolute stan- lationship, known as a charity girl, might compro- dard (Rosen 1982:70; Stansell 1986:179-180; 88 HISTORICAL ARCHAEOLOGY, VOLUME 25 Hobson 1990:106). Some prostitutes at the turn of Ruth Rosen (1982:90-91, 159-161) relates ac- the century, either in response to economic crisis counts of women who succeeded in business or in or to earn enough to escape a future in unskilled marriage, in spite of the risks of alcoholism, drug labor or marriage to an unskilled laborer, were addiction, and disease (Rosen 1982:98-99). successful in using prostitution as a means of eco- Like the working-class family and its house- nomic and social mobility (Rosen 1982:158-161). hold, the brothel evidenced the effects of industrial If going out to work could be defined as fulfilling capitalism. Earlier in the century, prostitutes a daughter’s responsibility to her family, some worked independently, boarding in working-class daughters may have fulfilled their obligation to the households and working for themselves much like family by providing income through prostitution other self-supporting single workers in the neigh- during the apprentice years between childhood and borhood (Rosen 1982:70; Hobson 1990:103). marriage (Rosen 1982:15 1). Prostitutes also lived in brothels operated by a Data from studies of prostitutes in several cities madam, who owned and operated a boardinghouse in the early 20th century present a profile of the as a brothel. By the turn of the century, however, urban prostitute (Rosen 1982:137-138). Most brothels were businesses managed by madams, but prostitutes were the daughters of working-class often owned by others who realized most of the parents (many of whom were immigrants) whose profits (Rosen 1982:71). Like other laborers of the employment options were limited to domestic ser- late 19th century, prostitutes had less control over vice, unskilled or semi-skilled labor, and clerical their work as an employee of an owner-investor or sales positions-all of which customarily paid (Rosen 1982:70). less than a living wage to women employees (Rosen 1982:139-141, 147; Peiss 1986:52; Hob- son 1990: 103). In many cases, women reported Working Women in Washington, D.C. that they entered prostitution in response to a fam- ily economic crisis and to earn far more than they Low wages and limited opportunity character- could in any other kind of work (Rosen 1982:148- ized employment for women in 19th-century 154). For some, earnings went to help support Washington, D.C. Because the federal city was not family (Rosen 1982:151). Others wanted to have an industrial city, there were fewer factory jobs more control over their incomes and more to spend than in many other eastern cities (U.S. Senate on entertainment and clothing (Rosen 1982:149): a 1913:22). Although employment with the federal common complaint of the immigrants’ American- government may have avoided some of the hazards born daughters who made up much of the work of factory work, it was widely believed that other force was lack of control over their own income risks to a woman’s well-being and virtue pre- and the desire to have money for clothing and en- vailed. The pay inequities reported in eastern in- tertainment (Peiss 1986:69). Some women re- dustrial cities also existed in Washington, D.C. ported that they entered prostitution through the Accounts of the capital city published in the white slave trade or because they had been “ru- 1860s and 1870s report that women working at the ined” already (Rosen 1982:137), but for many, it U.S. Treasury (located at the northwest corner of was an economic decision made in the face of lim- the Division) were ,paid salaries “notoriously in- ited choices. These women, in fact, saw prostitu- sufficient to support the women decently” (Ellis tion as a strategy for improving their economic 1869:383); women clerks were paid $600 to $900 situation, enabling them to manage or own a busi- per annum, while men received no less than $1200 ness, pay for an education, or dress well enough to (Ames 1875:377). The Treasury has a long history get a better job or marry well; that is, women of employing women for the tedious work of cut- worked as prostitutes for the same reasons women ting treasury notes. The contemporary explanation worked in wage labor. In her study of prostitution was that “a woman can use scissors better than a in America at the beginning of the 20th century, man, and she will do it cheaper” (Ames 1875: THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF WORKING WOMEN 89 372). During the Civil War, women were hired to of household were employed; their occupations replace men who left their jobs for military ser- were also traditional women’s tasks (seamstress, vice. After the war, many of the women who came dressmaker, laundress, cook, domestic servant, to the national capital looking for employment and prostitute) (USBC 1880). Although there were were hired by the Treasury Department. Nine- few working-class households in the neighborhood teenth-century accounts report the hazards of work by 1900, the employment patterns are similar: fe- in a government office: male heads of household are employed; wives with resident husbands are keeping house (USBC You will hear it said in Washington that the acceptance of a 1900). Government clerkship by a woman is her first step in the Historical sources indicated that the organiza- road to ruin. If she is young and pretty, she is surrounded by men who seek her moral destruction-men oftentimes high tion of prostitution changed in the Division by the in position, and who ought to shrink with horror from such turn of the century. In the middle of the 19th devilish acts. She has need of all her punty, all her firm- century, some of the prostitutes in the Division ness, for those who would injure her, ply every art known worked independently, boarding in working-class to man. They surround her with flattery, with temptations households, like other self-supporting single work- of every description, and when these fail, threaten her with a dismissal from the place in which she earns her bread, if ers in the neighborhood (USBC 1860, 1870). Pros- she does not yield. Nine times out of ten she is the child of titutes also lived in brothels operated by a madam, poor parents, or her father may have died under the old flag, like those recorded during the Civil War (Provost and she may be the only hope of a widowed mother for Marshal 1864-1865). Some of these brothels were bread, and, to lose her place, would be to bring starvation family businesses, like the houses run by Ellen upon her loved ones. Her persecutors weigh well all these things, and urge them upon her, until she is nearly driven Starr and her daughters during the 1850s and 1860s mad, and-she yields (Ellis 1869:386). in Hooker’s Division (James 0. Hall 1989, pers. comm.). There were three brothels and several in- Whether or not this description of the risk of work dependent prostitutes in the sample of 68 house- with the Treasury Department was well founded, it holds from 1880 (USBC 1880). There is some ev- clearly represents the contemporary belief in idence to suggest that the turn-of-the-century Washington, D.C., that women worked in that brothels, however, were businesses managed by government department at their peril (cf. Ames madams, but owned by others: some of the broth- 1875:374). els in Hooker’s Division were apparently owned Census records indicate that the women in the by prominent men of the city (U.S. Senate 1913: working-class households of Hooker’s Division 28 -29). were employed in traditional women’s work, not By 1900, most of the households in the study in shops, offices, or factories. Working-class fam- sample were brothels. Brothels were indicated by ilies used a variety of strategies to make ends meet. several kinds of sources. Several houses are la- In 1880, when working-class households predom- beled F.B. on Sanborn fire insurance maps, an inated, occupation and household composition abbreviation for female boarding. Although this data from the sample of households analyzed for designation is not restricted to brothels, most of the this study indicate that male heads of household houses in Storyville, New Orleans’s red-light dis- were primarily unskilled or semi-skilled laborers trict, were also labeled F.B. (John T. Magill 1988, or shopkeepers. Many households included board- pers. comm.). A newspaper article from the 1890s ers, and older sons and some older daughters were identified most of the house lots in the study sam- employed (as laundress, domestic servant, or ple as bagnios (houses of prostitution, bawdy nurse). Wives in households with husbands are houses), including 1359 Ohio Avenue, the prove- usually listed as keeping house. Those wives for nience of the brothel assemblage used in this study whom an occupation is listed were employed in (Figure 3; Within Sight of the White House homemaking tasks which could have been done at [ 18951). Census records list 27 of 38 households in home (such as washing and ironing). Female heads the study sample as boardinghouses occupied by 90 HISTORICAL ARCHAEOLOGY, VOLUME 25

FIGURE 3 Newspaper clipping from the 1890s identifying bagnios (brothels) and saloons in Hooker's Division (Within Sight of the White House [1895]) unrelated women boarders. While the 1880 census hold head (madam). The residents are listed as lists the occupation prostitute, the 1900 census boarders ut home, the same listing for unemployed lists the occupation boardinghouse for the house- wives and small children. However, women in THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF WORKING WOMEN 91 family households are easily identified by house- Evening Star (e.g., 29 August 1864:3; 2 March hold position, which lists wife or daughter. The 1865:3; 19 March 1865:3) during the war refer to households identified as brothels are occupied by the neighborhood as Hooker’s Division. It was two to eight women boarders from their late teens said that during their off-duty hours, this was the to early 30s with different surnames. Although the place to find the men of General Hooker’s Division neighborhood was racially integrated, the brothels (James 0. Hall 1989, pers. comm.). Although the were not, except for black servants in some of the use of “hooker” for prostitute appears to predate white houses. Most of the women are listed as the establishment of the Division (Press 1984:56), single; however, several madams are listed as mar- the double entendre of Hooker’s Division probably ried; one was divorced. A few prostitutes are listed contributed to popularizing the term. as married, divorced, or widowed. Thirty percent The soldiers left the city after the war, but the of the white prostitutes were first-generation neighborhood retained its name. According to the Americans and 9 percent were foreign born, but 1870 census, several prostitutes continued to live black prostitutes were native-born daughters of in the neighborhood, either living in brothels or American-born parents (USBC 1900). boarding in working-class households (USBC 1870, 1880). The laborers living in the neighbor- hood could walk to work in the city center, and the The Neighborhood Named for entertainments of the saloons and services of the General Hooker prostitutes were convenient to downtown without disturbing the decorum of middle- and upper-class Hooker’s Division had a long history as home to residential neighborhoods (Ellis 1869:458). Cen- prostitutes. By the mid-19th century, the neighbor- sus records also indicate that the neighborhood was hood was known for gambling, drinking, thieving, both racially and ethnically mixed. Immigrants brawling, and prostitution (Press 1984:53; Town- from northern Europe, England, and Ireland lived send 1873:457). During the Civil War, thousands in Hooker’s Division, as well as native-born white of off-duty soldiers who came to Washington, and black residents (USBC 1870). D.C., looking for good times frequented the the- Near the turn of the century, Hooker’s Division aters, saloons, and brothels. The city council of the changed from a mixed residential-commercial-in- District of Columbia discussed controlling vice by dustrial neighborhood to a red-light district. In the closing saloons early and licensing houses, but 1890s, the number of prostitutes in the neighbor- took no action. Secondary sources report that Ma- hood increased significantly; by 1900, most of the jor General Joseph Hooker (commander of the dwellings in the neighborhood were brothels. Sev- Army of the Potomac) addressed the problem in eral of the brick townhouses built on Ohio Avenue 1863 by concentrating the city’s prostitutes in the during the 1890s were probably built as brothels. neighborhood south of Pennsylvania Avenue Like many urban centers, Washington, D.C., (Brown 1930:373; Green 1962, 1:251; Press 1984: had a red-light district close to the city’s central 56; Leech 1986 [1941]:264). The provost mar- business district (Shumsky 1986:665 -666; Sy- shal’s 1864-1865 survey of bawdy houses sug- manski 1981:193). The brothels were convenient gests that many of the city’s brothels were in the to downtown and the city’s theater district and tol- area known as Hooker’s Division: the list recorded erated in a working-class neighborhood, where over 30 brothels on 11th, 12th, 13th, C, D, and E prostitutes had long been among the working streets and over 20 brothels in the area south of the women of the neighborhood. Washington Canal (south of the Division). An ad- Plans for rehabilitating the Division (by replac- ditional 20 brothels were scattered around the rest ing the existing neighborhood with government of the city (Provost Marshal 1864-1865). Al- buildings) were discussed at the turn of the cen- though Hooker’s initiative appears to be undocu- tury. The District of Columbia’s new office build- mented, several local news stories in Washington’s ing, in the northeast portion of the Division, was 92 HISTORICAL ARCHAEOLOGY, VOLUME 25

FIGURE 4 Detail of Map to Accompany Remarks of Major Richard Sylvester Sylvester, superintendent of the District of Columbia Police, testified before the Senate Subcommittee of the District of Columbia concerning the "abatement of houses of ill fame" )U. S Senate 1913) The key on the map is from the original opened in 1908 (Press 1984:68), but the brothels making the ownership or management of a house remained (Figure 4). The brothels were finally for the purpose of prostitution a nuisance (U.S. closed in 1914, when Congress enacted legislation Senate 1913; Commissioners of the District of Co- THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF WORKING WOMEN 93 lumbia 1914:359-361; Press 1984:68). Across the washable clothing and higher standards of cleanli- country, the advocates of social purity pressed for ness meant more laundry. Mass-produced kitchen the criminalization of prostitution and the closing utensils and ceramic tablewares had been pur- of the red-light districts (Rosen 1982:14-15, 29). chased by working-class families since the middle Purity-movement, Progressive, and religious lead- of the 19th century (e.g., LeeDecker et al. 1987; ers succeeded in their cause in Washington, D.C., Shephard 1987; Spencer-Wood and Heberling in February of 1914. The Division, minus the 1987). brothels, continued to be a mixed residential- Despite the changes in homemaking brought by commercial-industrial neighborhood until the late industrialism which were promoted as improve- 1920s, when Congress authorized the purchase of ments, homemaking for the working-class woman the remaining land in the Federal Triangle for gov- was hard work, and living conditions were often ernment facilities (Press 1984:69). The last build- uncomfortable-as detailed in Cowan (1983: ings in the neighborhood were razed in the 1930s 160-172). Historical sources suggest, however, (Cheek and Glendening 1988:12). that life in better brothels was more comfortable, and the resident women had regular meals and nice clothing (Rosen 1982:157). Prostitutes spent their earnings on stylish clothing, cosmetics, and The Material Conditions of the Working-Class pharmaceuticals. They often purchased from Household and the Brothel vendors who came to the red-light district, selling fancy goods (clothing and personal items) at With the development of industrial capitalism, inflated prices (Rose 1974:30; Rosen 1982:106, the material conditions of life changed rapidly, es- 147; Shumsky 1986:666). Descriptions of brothels pecially during the years around the turn of the (like Scheele’s description of the house he visited century (Cowan 1983). The reorganization of pro- in 1913 in the Division) often refer to fancy duction and consumption are often cited as funda- household furnishings. Some of the brothels in mental changes of the period, particularly the Hooker’s Division had servants, such as cooks, transfer of production for exchange from the fam- chambermaids, and porters (USBC 1900), sug- ily business to the factory (Sacks 1974:211; Mat- gesting the residents enjoyed a more comfortable thaei 1982:97). However, the separate spheres life. The contrast in life-style between the brothel model oversimplifies the relationship between and working-class household suggests different workplace and home. Both production for ex- consumer patterns related to household composi- change (such as piecework and services for board- tion, function, and income. ers) and production for use continued within work- One important aspect of the life-style of the ing-class households. Nevertheless, the kinds of prostitute was the ability to dress well. Prostitutes things that working-class homemakers produced cited nice clothes (along with eating well and liv- for their families changed, and many goods were ing more comfortably) as a major benefit of the purchased regularly, even by poorer families profession (Rosen 1982:157-159). They were able (Cowan 1983:66-67). Urban homemakers baked, to purchase clothing they never could have af- cooked, and preserved foods, but most ingredients forded as unskilled laborers: the prostitute could were purchased: small urban lots like those in dress like a lady. Many, however, wore special Hooker’s Division, which often included a house, attire, identified with the profession (Rosen 1982: alley dwelling, and outbuildings, had little room 106-107). for a kitchen garden or chicken coop. Beverages While prostitutes distinguished themselves by such as milk and beer in glass bottles were pur- their style of dress, working-class young women chased. Most households bought ready-made also “put on style” (Peiss 1986:57, 63-66). The clothing, particularly men’s work clothing, by the obsession for clothing (as reformers described it) turn of the century (Cowan 1983:73-75), but more was frequently mentioned (cf. Richardson 1972 94 HISTORICAL ARCHAEOLOGY, VOLUME 25 [ 19051:106-107). Young working women living on low wages used several strategies to acquire clothing: they went without food to save for a new dress or hat; they relied on male friends to buy clothing they could not afford; and they used oc- casional prostitution to buy clothing for themselves (Richardson 1972[1905]:27-28; Rosen 1982:158- 159; Weiner 1985:26,77; Peiss 1986:54,67, 1987: 110). Dress was used to display independence, challenge respectability, attract men, emulate la- dies, and achieve upward social mobility (Peiss 1986:63). Working women sometimes adopted el- ements of the prostitute’s style. In fact, contempo- rary accounts describe the difficulty distinguishing the respectable women from their fallen sisters in public dance halls (Peiss 1986:66, 98). Working- class women did not subscribe to the standards of dress and behavior as indications of respectability which middle-class reformers held. In fact, work- ing-class women may have consciously affected some aspects of prostitutes’ distinctive dress (Peiss 1986:66; Rosen 1982:107); however, it is clear that practicing prostitutes had the income to dress in style and realize an aspiration they shared with young women working in wage labor. Reformers lamented young working women’s interest in clothing and purchases they considered extravagant on a working-woman’s wages. They Archaeological excavations in Hooker’s Divi- were well aware that these women could barely sion sampled 10 house lots which included both make ends meet and often received clothing from working-class households and brothels. Artifact male friends in exchange for sexual favors (Weiner collections from two working-class households, 1985:26, 77; Peiss 1990:159). What the reformers 1367 Ohio Avenue, N.W., and 317 13?h Street, overlooked was the extent to which dressing well N.W., and one brothel, 1359 Ohio Avenue, N.W., could be an investment in the future. For these were analyzed for this study (Figures 2, 5). young women, putting on style improved their The artifact assemblage from 1367 Ohio Avenue chances of attracting upwardly mobile young men. came from one test unit and two excavation units One of the attractions of the dance hall was the located in the backyard of the lot. The stratigraphic opportunity to meet college men (Rosen 1982: units represented sheet midden deposited ca. 159), and women used clothing to attract attention 1896-1910. The lot was owned and occupied by (Peiss 1990:159). Wage labor was a stage in the the widow Caroline Graniger and her adult son working-class woman’s life; her goal was marriage John who operated a grocery store there from the and family. Financial security for the unskilled 1860s to ca. 1910. Caroline Graniger appears to woman worker was in marrying a good provider. have taken over the family business at the death of To the extent that putting on style improved her her husband. She is first listed as the occupant of chances, money spent on clothes was an invest- this address in a city directory (Boyd‘s Directory ment in her future (Matthaei 198254; Rosen 1982: 1869), and the 1870 census lists her occupation as 158 - 159). keeps grocery; John is listed as blacksmith. By THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF WORKING WOMEN 95 1880, Caroline’s occupation is listed as retail gro- keeper. Madam Reggie and three of the prostitutes cery, and her son and her brother Charles Guesch were first-generation Americans; one prostitute are listed as grocery clerk. A young woman iden- was a widow and one was married, as was the tified as Jennie Crawford is also listed in the housekeeper. All of the women are white; their household (USBC 1870, 1880). An 1886 building ages range from 21 to 30, except for the house- permit was issued to Caroline and John Graniger to keeper, who was 44 (USBC 1900). In 1910, the build a show window, and the 1893-1894 general house is headed by Gladys Ryan, boardinghouse, assessment lists Caroline Greenacker [sic] as with five female boarders, Caroline Carroll, Ger- owner of the property. There is no 1900 census trude Elliott, Eva Wilson, Dorothy Dickson, and listing for this address, but the 1903 Sanborn map Bill Gould, at home. The occupants of this house- shows a store at 1367 Ohio Avenue. New owners hold were native-born, single, white women be- are listed by the 1908-1909 general assessment, tween the ages of 21 and 28 (no birthplace infor- and there is no 1910 census listing (Cheek et al. mation is listed for Gould) (USBC 1910). The 1991:28-29). house was vacant in 1914-1915, after the passage The second working-class household assem- of the abatement act that closed Washington, blage, from 317 13½ Street, came from five ex- D.C.’s, red-light district (Cheek et al. 1991:30- cavation units in the backyard of the lot. The strati- 32). graphic units represented sheet midden and a trash By the turn of the century, there were few work- pit deposited ca. 1910-1928 (Cheek et al. 1991: ing-class households in the Division, and the two 36). According to the 1910 census, the household collections available for this study are not ideal on the lot was composed of Nicolas Papas, a Greek working-class family households. Therefore, con- proprietor, and his four cousins (three male, one temporaneous collections from two other working- female). Cousins Angela Hemmellopolis and G. class neighborhoods in Washington, D.C., were Baily are at home; cousin Rocos Baily is listed as selected for comparison (Figure 6). huckster; cousin August Hemmellopolis, as hotel Comparable data from other Washington, D.C., cook (USBC 1910). sites include one household on N Street, S.E., one The brothel assemblage came from four excava- on Quander Place (Cheek et al. 1983), and several tion units in the backyard of 1359 Ohio Avenue. households from a portion of the historic Barrys The stratigraphic units represent midden deposited Farm neighborhood in the Howard Road Historic from the mid-1890s to 1914. In 1880, the wood- District (Louis Berger and Associates [LBA] 1985, framed house at this address was occupied by an 1986). Analysis procedures used for these three Irish working-class family and boarders (USBC investigations followed procedures comparable to 1880). In the mid-l890s, this house and six others those used for the Hooker’s Division collections. along Ohio Avenue were torn down and eight The N Street and Quander Place collections are brick row houses were built. The three-story house from data recovery investigations conducted by at 1359 Ohio Avenue was built and owned by Soil Systems, Inc., at the National Photographic Frederick Brinkman. The 1903 Sanborn fire insur- Interpretation Center Addition in the Washington, ance map labels all eight houses F.B. (female D.C., Navy Yard Annex in the spring and summer boarding), and seven of the eight (including 1359 of 1982 (Cheek et al. 1983). The project area was Ohio Avenue) are identified as bagnios in an 1890s located on square 743 in Southeast Washington, newspaper article on bawdy houses and saloons in D.C. Although the square was occupied as early as Hooker’s Division (Cheek et al. 1991:30-31). the beginning of the 19th century, the areas exca- The 1900 census lists Myrtle Reggie, boarding- vated contained deposits from the late 19th and house; five female boarders, named Marjorie early 20th centuries. Trenches were excavated to Small, Maurie Denison, Janice Munson, Maggie test for preserved deposits, and units were exca- Maloney, and May Spencer, at home; and one vated in preserved yard deposits. Comparative data female boarder, Louise Larreb, is listed as house are from street and alley occupations on lot 23. 96 HIATORICAL ARCHAEOLOGY VOLUME 25

FIGURE 6 Three Washington, D C , neighborhoods at the turn of the century (USGS 1898).

Deposits from the occupation of the house facing Inc., in 1984 (LBA 1985, 1986). The neighbor- N Street date from 1880 to 1920 and represent hood, historically known as Barrys Farm, was de- white working-class families, while the deposits veloped in the 1860s as a relocation settlement for from the dwelling at the rear of the lot, facing the freed slaves who sought refuge in Washington, alley, Quander Place, date from 1890 to 1940 and D.C. The four-acre project area included 18 lots represent black working-class families. Artifact along Howard Road. Although some of the archae- pattern analysis of the data revealed distinct dif- ological remains represent the 19th-century occu- ferences, primarily due to cultural or ethnic differ- pation of the area, most are from the 20th century ences (Cheek et al. 19835:II; Cheek and Friedlander (LBA 1986:292-293). Black working-class resi- 1990). dents occupied the house lots excavated in the Data recovery investigations at the Howard Howard Road Historic District from 1870 to 1930 Road Historic District in Southeast Washington, (LBA 1986:341-343). Historic artifact collections D.C., were conducted by Soil Systems, Inc., in recovered from excavation units in the backyards 1981-1982 and by Louis Berger & Associates, of five lots were analyzed using techniques includ- THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF WORKING WOMEN 97 TABLE 1 FREQUENCY OF ARTIFACT GROUPS BY NEIGHBORHOOD AND HOUSEHOLD TYPE

ing artifact pattern analysis. The major research technique for comparing collections in terms of focus was the recognition of ethnicity in the ar- relative proportions of artifacts grouped by func- chaeological record. However, artifact pattern tion. Because the technique has been widely used, analysis did not provide a statistically reliable tech- there are comparable data from other urban sites nique for identification of ethnicity. Nevertheless, such as the Washington, D.C., sites selected for the study indicated that yard use patterns may vary this study. However, the functional groups used in with socioeconomic and ethnic identity: rear yards pattern analysis treat artifacts associated with tra- on Howard Road were used to raise animals and ditional male activities differently from those as- receive refuse, while middle- and upper-class sociated with traditional female activities. Tools yards were kept cleaner and refuse was disposed of associated with men’s work, such as construction, in privies or designated midden areas (LBA 1986: farming, fishing, and riding, are in the activities 299). group (South 1977:163). Firearms are an indepen- dent group, although other military objects are in the activities group. Tools associated with tradi- Artifact Assemblages and Women’s Work tional women’s work (homemaking), however, are included in the kitchen, clothing, and personal To compare the brothel assemblage with work- groups, where they may be overwhelmed by the ing-class household assemblages, the cataloged ar- other artifacts in those groups and become invisi- tifacts were classified according to the artifact ble (Yentsch, this volume). Detailed analyses of groups proposed by South (1977). All identifiable the tools in the activities group as well as the tools artifacts were included in the sample. Bone arti- dispersed among other groups are necessary to ex- facts were included, but food remains, such as amine artifacts which reflect household members’ butchered and unbutchered bone, shell, and fruit work. pits, were not included in the pattern analysis, but The artifact assemblage from the brothel house- were analyzed separately. hold at 1359 Ohio Avenue differs significantly Artifact pattern analysis is a useful analytical from the other Washington, D.C., assemblages 98 HISTORICAL ARCHAEOLOGY, VOLUME 25 CLOTHING

Washington, D.C. Site6

FIGURE 7 Percentages of clothing artifacts

(Table 1). The most striking differences are be- Clothing Group tween the brothel and the white working-class households of Hooker’s Division and N Street; the The majority of the artifacts from the brothel brothel assemblage shares some similarities with assemblage in this group are buttons (90.34% of the black working-class households of Howard the group; Figure 7). Most are the simple porcelain Road and Quander Place, but there are important buttons used on men’s and women’s undergar- differences. Comparison of the artifact patterns ments and plain clothing. There are also porcelain represented by the assemblages indicates that the gaiter and shoe buttons; shell, bone, and hard- brothel had relatively low percentages of kitchen rubber buttons; and metal buttons, including men’s and architecture artifacts, but relatively high per- trouser buttons. In addition to these ordinary, util- centages of other groups, particularly the clothing, itarian buttons, there are several black glass but- personal, tobacco, and activities groups. The dis- tons and glass beads from dressy women’s gar- tinctive brothel pattern is a reflection of the brothel ments. Other fasteners include corset busk eyes, household’s composition and function, which is shirt studs, and buckles. A few sewing tools, in- distinct from the composition and function of the cluding straight pins and thimbles, are also repre- comparative working-class households. sented. THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF WORKING WOMEN 99 Although census records indicate that the resi- tion may represent spending on personal luxury dents of the brothel at 1359 Ohio Avenue were items, like jewelry and hair combs. women, a few brothels in the neighborhood had Artifacts of personal adornment and grooming resident men, like the porter at the brothel around are less common in the working-class households the corner at 1306 D Street (USBC 1900). How- in the Division. Personal artifacts account for 0.45 ever, visiting men probably account for the trouser percent of the working-class collection. Under half buttons, shirt studs, and some of the porcelain but- of those artifacts are combs, jewelry, and mirrors; tons at 1359 Ohio Avenue. The black glass buttons the majority of the personal artifacts are pencils, and glass beads probably reflect prostitutes’ lavish coins, keys, and eyeglass parts. Unfortunately, expenditures for clothing and practice of ‘‘putting there is little specific information on the personal on style” (Rosen 1982:106-107; Peiss 1986:66). artifacts from the other Washington, D.C., collec- The sewing tools represent participation in the tra- tions. Percentages of personal artifacts are low at ditional women’s work of sewing and repairing N Street (0.15%), Quander Place (0.34%), and clothes. Howard road (0.23%). Jewelry, coins, and keys Clothing group artifacts account for much are the only artifacts tabulated separately; most of smaller percentages of the other Washington, the artifacts are classified as either personal items D.C., assemblages, and buttons account for or miscellaneous. smaller percentages of the clothing group at these Although cosmetic and pharmaceutical bottles sites (49% at Howard Road to 86% at Quander are included in the kitchen group in this analysis Place). The working-class collections include (as they are in the other Washington, D.C., col- larger percentages of other clothing artifacts, in- lections), they are worth mentioning here. A per- cluding fasteners, beads, shoe parts, and a large fume-bottle stopper and a Fletcher’s Castoria number of miscellaneous artifacts in the Howard bottle were identified in the working-class assem- Road collection. Sewing tools are not listed for the blage. Cosmetics from the brothel assemblage in- N Street or Quander Place collections (which may clude Putnam’s White Satin Bouquet and Chese- be a result of different cataloging decisions), and brough Mfg. Co. Vaseline; pharmaceutical bottles tools make up less than 1 percent of the Howard include Mrs. Winslow’s Soothing Syrup, Bromo Road collection. The percentage of the sewing Seltzer, and Valentine’s Meat Juice, said to be a tools at the working-class households in the Divi- cure for “social diseases” (Herskovitz 1978:16). sion is slightly higher than at the brothel, suggest- ing that working-class homemakers were doing more sewing than the prostitutes. Tobacco Pipes

Tobacco pipes represent 1.35 percent of the Personal Group brothel collection (Figure 9). Both kaolin and red- ware pipes are represented by bowl and stem frag- While the personal group accounts for only 1.33 ments. Although women smoked at the turn of the percent of the brothel collection, this percentage is century (Cook 1989:224), cigarettes were probably much higher than the percentages for the other preferred by women, particularly women with a sites, which are all below 0.5 percent (Figure 8). penchant for putting on style (Peiss 1986:99). Pencils, coins, keys, and eyeglass parts account Brothel residents may have used some of the pipes for about one-quarter of the personal group. About represented in the collection; however, most of the three-quarters of the group are made up of jewelry, pipes were probably used and discarded by male religious articles (a cross and a medal), hair clients. Some brothels served food, and most combs, and mirror fragments. One syringe part is brothels in the Division served alcohol. Clients included in this group. The relatively higher per- probably also smoked. centage of personal artifacts in the brothel collec- The percentage of tobacco pipes in the brothel 100 HISTORICAL ARCHAEOLOGY, VOLUME 25 PERSONAL

Washington, D.C. Sites FIGURE 8 Percentages of personal artifacts

collection is much higher than the percentage from site to site (Figure 10). The activities group repre- the working-class households in the Division sents between 4 percent and 7 percent of the arti- (0.42%); the percentages from the other Washing- fact assemblage in the working-class households, ton, D.C., sites are even lower: N Street, 0.16 but the group accounts for 13 percent of the brothel percent; Quander Place, 0.10 percent; and Howard household assemblage. All households have low Road, 0.005 percent. The relatively high fre- percentages of tools (ranging from 0.9% to 0.2%, quency of pipes in the brothel probably reflects the the brothel having the lowest percentage). A large numbers of men visiting the brothels, as higher percentage of the group is made up of toys compared to the number of smokers spending time at N Street (13%) and Quander Place (13%). Per- in the working-class households. centages for the brothel household (4%) and the working-class households (6%) in the Division are Activities Group not markedly different; the percentage at Howard Road is the lowest (2%). The presence of toys in There are sharp differences in the percentages of the brothel assemblage suggests that children were the activities group among the Washington, D.C., visitors or residents of the brothel. The census sites, and the composition of the group varies from records do not list any children as residents of 1359 THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF WORKING WOMEN 101 TOBACCO PIPE ......

Washington, D.C. Sites FIGURE 9. Percentages of tobacco artifacts.

Ohio Avenue, nor are children listed for the work- makes up between 1 percent and 3 percent of the ing-class households at 1367 Ohio Avenue and 317 total artifact assemblages from the working-class 13% Street. In fact, few children are listed as households. However, lighting glass accounts for residents of the neighborhood. However, there 12 percent of the total artifact assemblage from the were children who grew up in New Orleans broth- brothel: lighting glass accounts for the high relative els (Rose 1974:150), and there may have been percentage of the activities group as compared to children in the Hooker’s Division brothels who the other collections. The high frequency of lighting were not listed in the census. glass has been noticed in other brothel collections Lighting glass accounts for a large percentage of (Kennedy [ 1989:99]citing work by Steven Baker in the activities group at N Street (37%), Quander a Colorado red-light district). The abundance of Place (51%), and the working-class households of lighting glass in the brothel assemblage is probably Hooker’s Division (80%). Lighting glass is not a function of the brothel as workplace, since the listed separately for the Howard Road assemblage. brothel work day was after dark (Rosen 1982:157). In the brothel assemblage, lighting glass accounts Brothel districts were, after all, known for their for 93 percent of the activities group. Lighting glass distinctive illumination. 102 HISTORICAL ARCHAEOLOGY, VOLUME 25 ACTIVITIES

Washington, D.C. Sites FIGURE 10 Percentages of activities artifacts

Floral and Faunal Assemblages steaks (72) and roasts (20) (Cheek et al. 1991:65). Although assemblages from other sites are not di- Analysis of the floral and faunal assemblages rectly comparable, the 72 steak bones from the demonstrated further differences between the con- Hooker’s Division brothel far exceed the number sumption patterns of the brothel and the working- of these bones from other eastern urban sites class households. The turn-of-the-century work- (Cheryl Holt 1991, pers. comm.). ing-class assemblage from Hooker’s Division as Other differences between the working-class well as earlier working-class and brothel assem- and brothel faunal assemblages indicate distinct blages from the Division are all within the expect- consumption patterns. No beef elements were ed range for households with limited resources. identified in the working-class assemblages; how- The turn-of-the-century brothel assemblage, how- ever, large amounts of beef were identified in the ever, is distinct from other assemblages in Hook- brothel assemblage. Pork was well represented in er’s Division and from other eastern urban assem- both working-class households and brothels. A rel- blages of the same time period: the brothel atively high number of pigs’ feet (14 elements) assemblage included remarkably large quantities were also found in the brothel assemblage (Cheek of bones from expensive meat cuts, particularly et al. 1991:65). THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF WORKING WOMEN 103 Steaks are usually served as individual portions. borhood, suggesting all available cuts were con- The frequency of individual portions in the brothel sumed. Greens also appear to have been important assemblage may reflect solitary dining, rather than to the diet of neighborhood residents (LBA 1986: the communal dining of a family household. Pros- 335-336). titutes may have eaten individually, when not oc- cupied with a client (Cheek et al. 1991:65). Some brothels served meals to clients, so some of these Artifact Patterns and Consumer Choices expensive, individual cuts may represent client meals. The pigs’ feet apparently reflect a particular Comparative data demonstrate that the brothel taste of the prostitutes or their clients. household at 1359 Ohio Avenue exhibited a dis- The large quantities of steaks and roasts repre- tinctive artifact assemblage. Artifact pattern anal- sented in the brothel assemblage indicate that the ysis revealed marked differences in relative pro- brothel household purchased and consumed expen- portions of most artifact groups when the brothel sive meat cuts, suggesting eating well rather than assemblage is compared with white working-class eating economically (Cheek et al. 1991:65). Al- assemblages and black working-class assemblages though clients may have consumed some of the from Hooker’s Division and two other Washing- steaks, the high frequency suggests the resident ton, D.C., neighborhoods. The differences be- women of 1359 Ohio Avenue enjoyed eating well, tween the brothel assemblage and the working- one of the benefits of the profession cited by pros- class assemblages reflect differences in household titutes (Rosen 1982:157) and one of the amenities composition, function, and income. of life beyond the means of working-class women The women of all three neighborhoods were (Richardson 1972[1905]:175; Weiner 1985:77; cf. working women, and the home was the workplace Spencer 1984:23). for the homemakers and the prostitutes. The The floral assemblages from the working-class women of both the working-class households and households and brothel are not unusual. The only the brothel were probably raised in working-class evidence of processing a large quantity of fruit, households, and they were involved in many of the such as canning, preserving, or juicing, comes same activities in each type of household. The from the working-class Papas household at 3 17 turn-of-the-century brothel, however, is not a vari- 13% Street. Households with limited purchasing ation of the working-class household, even though power often took advantage of inexpensive fruits prostitutes brought working-class behavior and in season which could be preserved for future use values with them (including putting on style and a (Cheek et al. 1991:65). fluid definition of sexual respectability). Mid-cen- Comparable data on meat cuts are not available tury prostitutes had worked for themselves (living for the N Street and Quander Place assemblages. as individual boarders in working-class house- However, beef is represented in both street and holds) or for madams in brothels, but the turn- alley assemblages; pork is represented only in the of-the-century brothel was a capitalist business. alley assemblage (Cheek et al. 1983:130-131). The brothel was managed for the profit of its own- The pigs’ feet, opossum, and wild greens from the ers; the well-being of the resident employees was alley assemblage were interpreted as evidence of secondary. In the working-class household, the distinctive foodways of the black alley dwellers well-being of the family was primary, and the (Cheek and Friedlander 1990:56). working-class homemaker managed her household Pork is also well represented at the assemblage for the benefit of her family. from Howard Road; beef is less common. The high While the working-class assemblages reflect frequency of pork is attributed to its lower cost consumption patterns of family households trying (LBA 1986:316, 318). Comparable meat-cut data to make ends meet, the brothel artifact assemblage are not presented, but skeletal evidence indicates reflects personal consumer choices of the residents that pigs were raised and butchered in the neigh- as well as consumer choices made by the madam 104 HISTORICAL ARCHAEOLOGY, VOLUME 25 managing the business-household. The tobacco vision and other Washington, D.C., neighbor- pipes from the brothel probably represent con- hoods. Like the black working-class households at sumption behavior of clients. The high frequency Howard Road and Quander Place, the brothel at of lighting glass reflects the use of artificial light 1359 Ohio Avenue had a relatively low percentage for night work. The relatively high percentages of of kitchen artifacts; however, in contrast to all of clothing and personal artifacts represent personal the other collections, the brothel had relatively consumption behavior. The prostitutes of Hooker’s high percentages of clothing, personal, tobacco, Division were working-class women who had and activities artifacts. The differences document more money to spend on themselves than did distinctive patterns of consumption and variation young women working in shops, offices, or do- in the material conditions of life in turn-of-the- mestic service; however, their consumer choices century Washington, D.C. indicate common tastes. Self-supporting working The relationship between consumer behavior women repeatedly reported the difficulty of eating and household composition and function is eluci- well and dressing in style on the wages they dated by understanding women’s work. Gender earned, and prostitutes also cited food and clothing roles define appropriate behavior by sex and age, among their reasons for entering the profession. including appropriate work. Women’s work at the The archaeological record documents the material turn of the century was homemaking. However, differences in clothing and meat consumption be- for many young working-class women, the transi- tween working-class households and brothels. tion from adolescence to adulthood included going out to work. Wage labor for these women was considered a stage between childhood dependence Summary and Conclusions and adult responsibility when young women con- tributed financially to the support of the natal fam- Hooker’s Division was Washington, D.C. ’s, ily. As social adults, working-class wives often turn-of-the-century red-light district. Although the continued remunerative work by doing piecework neighborhood got its name during the Civil War, at home or taking in boarders, thereby contributing when it was known for its saloons and brothels, it to family income by providing homemaking ser- was a neighborhood of working-class family vices for strangers while caring for their families. households until the end of the 19th century. By Wage-labor options were limited for women; in 1900, brothels had replaced most working-class the face of financial crisis, prostitution was a way households in the neighborhood, and the Division to increase earnings significantly. Women entered was a racially and ethnically mixed neighborhood prostitution for the same reasons women went into known for its occupational specialization. Like wage labor: to support dependents and to support other urban red-light districts, Hooker’s Division themselves. Some prostitutes continued to contrib- was close to the city center, but separate from re- ute to the support of their families, like young spectable middle- and upper-class neighborhoods. women in wage labor who turned over their earn- Archaeological excavations in Hooker’s Division ings to the head of the family. Others were self sampled both brothel and working-class household supporting and independent, but were able to enjoy types, and comparison of the artifact assemblages material comforts which were beyond the means of revealed striking differences in consumption pat- those working in shops, offices, or domestic ser- terns related to household composition, income, vice. and function. The development of industrial capitalism is of- Working-class assemblages from Hooker’s Di- ten discussed in terms of increasing segregation of vision are similar to assemblages from other Wash- function, where home and workplace are separate ington, D.C., working-class neighborhoods. How- and work is defined as remunerative labor, but ever, the brothel assemblage is distinct from examination of women’s work reveals a more working-class household assemblages from the Di- complex situation. The working women of Hook- THE ARCHAEOLOGY OF WORKING WOMEN 105 er's Division participated in many of the same ac- Patrick O'Bannon, and Billy Ray Roulette, Jr., as- tivities. Homemakers and prostitutes worked at sisted in the clarification and interpretation of the home and worked for many of the same reasons. data used in this paper. Cheryl Holt analyzed and interpreted the floral and faunal collections. Our However, the economic value and cultural mean- discussions about the meat cuts represented in the ing of their activities (both domestic and sexual) collections led to a clearer understanding of mate- were different. Economic value is assessed in rial benefits of brothel life. Sarah Ruch prepared the terms of the income produced by labor; cultural maps, and Patricia Joy prepared the graphs. John meaning is derived from cultural definitions of Milner Associates, Inc., provided support for the preparation of the paper. gender and appropriate gender-specific behavior. Those who shared my interest in the life and The economic value of the prostitute's labor was times of the underside of historic Washington, D.C., clearly far greater than the economic value of the also contributed to the paper. Joseph E. Scheele's homemaker's labor, and the cultural meanings of reminiscences of his youthful visit to one of the Di- prostitution and homemaking as defined by mid- vision's brothels enriched our picture of the neigh- borhood, and James 0. Hall's knowledge of Civil dle-class standards were not shared by the working War Washington clarified how the Division got its classes. Providing sex for explicit economic com- name. John T. Magill, Historic New Orleans Collec- pensation found greater acceptance among the tion, provided confirmation of our interpretation of working-class people; sex for economic security F.B. as an abbreviation for female boarding, the was only acceptable for middle-class women designation used both in Hooker's Division and New Orleans's Storyville to identify brothels on San- within the context of marriage. To understand born maps. Carol Eyler directed me to the major prostitution at the turn of the century, it is impor- secondary sources on prostitution, and staff mem- tant to consider the differences in cultural values in bers of the Washingtoniana Division, Martin Luther the context of class and economic opportunity. King, Jr., Library in Washington, D.C., assisted us The women of the Division who chose prostitu- in our historical research. Archaeologists Elizabeth Crowell, Donald Har- tion from the limited economic choices open to desty, Margaret Kennedy, and Matthew Schmad- them were working-class women who used illegit- der shared information from their research on imate means to work for widely held goals of so- brothels and red-light districts. Juliann C. Pool cial mobility, material success, and economic se- shared her research on historic buttons. Archaeol- curity. These women made other choices as well, ogists Lauren Cook, Julia Costello, Nancy Kassner, Julia King, Margaret Purser, Diana diZerega Wall, including the selection of personal possessions. and Anne Yentsch offered many useful comments The archaeological assemblage of the brothel re- on my interpretations of material culture, gender, flects consumer choices made by the madam who and the archaeology of prostitution; James Gibb managed the brothel and by the resident prosti- shared his observations on the gender biases of tutes, who, by virtue of their greater income, ex- artifact pattern analysis. The data on which this paper is based are from pressed taste in clothing and personal possessions the archaeological investigations at Federal Trian- which they shared with the respectable young gle, which were undertaken in accordance with the working women of their class who struggled to National Historic Preservation Act of 1966. The make ends meet. project was sponsored by the Pennsylvania Ave- nue Development Corporation and conducted by John Milner Associates, Inc., in cooperation with TAMS Consultants, Inc., and in consultation with ACKNOWLEDGMENTS the District of Columbia Historic Preservation Office and the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation. A successful project is the shared accomplishment of the project team. I am especially grateful to my colleague and friend, Charles Cheek, co-principal REFERENCES investigator, who agreed to let me work on the AMES,MARY CLEMMER good stuff, weathered the weekly data crises, and 1875 Ten Years in Washington: Life and Scenes in the read several versions of the paper. Project team National Capital, as a Woman Sees Them. A. D. members Joe Balicki, Glenn Ceponis, Dana Heck, Worthington, Hartford, Connecticut. 106 HISTORICAL ARCHAEOLOGY, VOLUME 25 BOSE,CHRISTINE E. sources Management Studies No. 21. 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