Recently, I had the honor of collaborating with the Historic House Trust of New York City to create this illustration of the Dyckman Farmhouse, an 18th century home still standing at the intersection of Broadway and W 204th St. We wanted to give the scene some good narrative and approached the subject as though it were a picture book spread. Upon reading the HHT research, I wanted to be sure all of the Farmhouse’s earliest residents were represented as well, including two enslaved residents, a young girl named Hannah and her mom.

Enslaved women in Upper Manhattan and the Hudson Valley performed a number of tasks that were critical to the upkeep of the farm. In addition to helping in the fields, women also worked the dairy room. Rising early in the morning with the rest of the house, Hannah and her mother would have walked to the barn to milk the Dyckman’s six cows. The “morning milk” was then carried to the house where it was “set in pans while the cream was skimmed from the previous evening’s milk.” Other duties included churning “the cream into butter” and making cheese from the milk. These products filled the Dyckman’s table and supplemented the grains harvested in the fields. (Windows to Our History, Tomczak)

Please check back for more developments on this special collaboration. In the meantime, learn more about the Dyckman Farmhouse Here: https://dyckmanfarmhouse.org

Thanks so very much to the whole team at HHT for this incredible opportunity, and as always to my reps Pat and Piper.