Greenburgh Public Library Blog

Women's History Month: Madam C. J Walker and Villa Lewaro in Irvington

March 2020: Women's History Month
Celebrating the Lives of Strong Women 
Madam C. J. Walker was “the first black woman millionaire in America” and made her fortune thanks to her homemade line of hair care products for black women. Madam C.J. Walker was born Sarah Breedlove to former slaves, Owen and Minerva Breedlove in Delta, Louisiana on December 23, 1867.  Young Sarah became an orphan at age seven when her parents died.  Three years later, ten-year-old Sarah and her sister moved across to river to Vicksburg, Mississippi to work as maids.  By her fourteenth birthday, Sarah married Moses McWilliams of Vicksburg and three years later gave birth to her only daughter Lelia (who later changed her name to A’Lelia).  Sarah became a widow in 1887. She was inspired to create her hair products after an experience with hair loss, which led to the creation of the “Walker system” of hair care. A talented entrepreneur with a knack for self-promotion, Walker built a business empire, at first selling products directly to black women, then employing “beauty culturalists” to hand-sell her wares. The self-made millionaire used her fortune to fund scholarships for women at the Tuskegee Institute and donated large parts of her wealth to the NAACP, the black YMCA and other charities. 

Villa Lewaro 

Her Westchester County neighborhood was the home of Vanderbilts, Morgans, and Astors. Jay Gould and John D. Rockefeller had built their massive estates nearby. Sitting high above the Hudson River in Irvington-on-Hudson, New York, “Villa Lewaro” had views of the river and the Palisades on the opposite shore. Her mansion’s interiors were as sumptuous as the views — including ivory-enameled mahogany, hand-woven Aubusson carpets, a Cartier sculpture, and a large Estey player organ.

The notable and majestic white mansion on Route 9  has an impressive history. Villa Lewaro was built in the years 1916-1918.  It was designed by Vertner Tandy, an accomplished African American architect for Madame C.J. Walker when she was 50 years old.  The home was used as a conference center on race relations issues, and as a meeting place for people including W.E.B. Dubois and Langston Hughes. It was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1976.  The home was built at an estimated cost of $250,000, (the equivalent of $4,689, 306.57 in today's dollars. The name Villa Lewaro was coined by a distinguished visitor, Enrico Caruso, from the first two letters of each word in Lelia Walker Robinson, the name of Walker's daughter, who later went by the name of A'Lelia Walker.

 Walker died there in 1919, and the house was inherited by her daughter A'Lelia Walker, who owned it until she herself died in 1931. She left it to the NAACP, but because that organization was in the midst of financial problems, it immediately resold the property. It has has been a private residence since the mid-1980s.

Enjoy watching Academy award winning actress Octavia Spencer starring as Madam C.J. Walker in the four part series which will debut on March 20, on Netflix, “Self Made: Inspired by the Life of Madam C.J. Walker."  Basketball great LeBron James is an investor in the project as well. The four-part limited series was based in part on the book "On Her Own Ground," written by Walker's great-great-granddaughter, A'Lelia Bundles. Netflix describes the series like this: "Against all odds, Walker overcame post-slavery racial and gender biases, personal betrayals and business rivalries to build a ground-breaking brand that revolutionized black haircare, as she simultaneously fought for social change."

This is the first time the cultural icon's story has been brought to the screen.
Just in time to celebrate Women's History Month!