Bowie’s Office Intro

The butler’s office serves as a center of operations

This room—labeled the “man’s room” on the floor plan—was the office of the butler, the most senior staff member in the household. The butler managed the operations of the house and would have been in close communication with W.E.C. Eustis. This office was used for meeting with vendors, interviewing new staff to hire, writing correspondence, and planning for family travel. Charles Bowie worked for the Hemenway and Eustis families for decades and was a valued member of the staff. As a founding member of the Ward 9 Club, his work challenging establishment politics in nineteenth-century Boston helped to write an early and unique chapter in the history of Black activism in New England. Read more about his work in the sections below or tap Ward 9 Club in the bar at the top of the screen to find it now.