Hattie L. Sewell

This advertisement ran in the Washington Times on July 10, 1920

Washington Times

Quick Facts

Significance:

African American Woman Entrepreneur

Place of Birth:

Texas

Place of Death:

Washington, DC

Date of Death:

May 11, 1943

Place of Burial:

Washington, DC

Cemetery Name:

Lincoln Memorial Cemetery

In 1905, military managers of Rock Creek Park decided to convert a then-inoperable Peirce Mill into a teahouse where patrons could enjoy food, beverages, and scenic views of Rock Creek Park. A series of female managers ran the teahouse.

In 1920, management of the teahouse was awarded to Hattie Sewell, an African-American woman. Sewell paid the $45 monthly rent and increased revenue at the teahouse over the course of the next year. But E.S. Newman, a prominent neighbor and Peirce family descendant, complained that the teahouse at the old mill was becoming “a rendezvous for colored people, soon developing into a nuisance.”

At first Colonel Sherrill, then in charge of park operations, resisted Newman’s pressure since there had been no other complaints. However, in October 1921, Sherrill informed Mrs. Sewell that he would not renew her contract to run the teahouse at Peirce Mill and would instead turn it over to the Joint Welfare Service, which would use the proceeds for charity. However, the Joint Welfare Service declined to take the contract since the arrangement had never been cleared with them. Park management then awarded the concession to the Girl Scouts Association of the District of Columbia in November 1921.

After the unjust cancellation of the teahouse contract, Hattie Sewell opened a second business. By the fall of 1922, she was running the Balfour Café at 16th and You (U) Streets NW in Washington, DC.

NOTE: In 1933, Rock Creek Park was transferred under the management of the National Park Service.