oa Made fast to the wharf

The establishment of European-style cities along the Atlantic seaboard of Colonial America positioned ports and wharves as central to the colonial economy. Unlike in England, where wharf ownership was often public or corporately managed, private ownership predominated in the colonies. Historians have long treated wharves as exclusively male spaces, yet this article demonstrates that women also owned and managed wharves in Colonial American port cities. Managing these properties required a blend of practical knowledge and commercial skill suited to the complexities of maritime enterprise. In the absence of male agents, female wharf owners worked within a labour force otherwise dominated by men. Focusing on the period before the American Revolution, this article examines women’s wharf ownership in Boston, Newport, New York, Philadelphia, and Charleston. Drawing on a wide range of archival sources – especially newspaper advertisements – it reveals the economic strategies women employed and situates them within the broader commercial and urban frameworks of the Colonial Atlantic world. By foregrounding this overlooked evidence, the article challenges longstanding assumptions about gender and economic agency in early American port cities and offers a new perspective on women’s participation in maritime commerce.