A Modern Woman:
The Many Roles & Achievements of Helen West Stewart Ridgley
It was said that she could work at the farm tending chickens all morning, go back to the Mansion and change clothes, then catch the train for Washington and have tea at the White House with her friends, the President and Mrs. Theodore Roosevelt.
In many ways, Helen West Stewart Ridgely (1854-1929) was a model of the modern woman during her time. She traveled independently, continued her studies, managed the estate and its finances, formed her own opinions and expressed them openly, was active in civic endeavors, kept an apartment in Baltimore, was Chair of the Ladies Auxiliary for the Maryland Delegation to the 1907 Jamestown Exposition, and learned to drive an automobile. However, there are some areas in which Helen was not so forward thinking as in others. For example, she opposed women’s suffrage, and even though she approved “modern” conveniences such as modern plumbing, a new heating system and telephone in the mansion, Helen refused to allow the installation of electricity.
