Bertha Honoré Palmer

IN THE EARLY 1900S, Bertha Honore Palmer, 11 wealthy widow from Chicago, spent part of her fortune to acquire 140,000 acres of Florida wilderness, half of which was in the Venice area and included parts of South Venice, including the lots my aunt and uncle would buy in 1973. Her cattle ranch was one of the biggest in the state and her home on the bay was complete with marble pillars lining walkways through formal gardens.

When Bertha Honoré married Potter Palmer, one of Chicago’s richest men, in 1871, a life surrounded by material comforts and leisure was assured. But the Great Chicago Fire wiped out a large part of her husband’s real estate fortune shortly after her marriage, and the true character of the woman who became the undisputed leader of Chicago society emerged.

Born in Louisville, Kentucky, in 1849, Bertha Honoré was the daughter of a leading local businessman, Henry Honoré, who later moved to Chicago. She was expensively and privately educated. When disaster struck her new husband, she put all her energy and intelligence into helping him restore his empire. During this time, she developed superior business judgment that she would use the rest of her life. Potter Palmer contributed much of his success to the efforts of his wife. He sometimes showed his admiration in spectacular ways - he bought Mrs. Palmer a seven-strand pearl and diamond necklace from Tiffany’s in Paris valued at $200,000. Her wedding present was the newly built Palmer House, worth $3,500,000, which was later destroyed in the fire.

Instead of living in the shadow of her rich, successful husband, Palmer became a leader and example for women of her generation and class. With social connections all over the world, she was successful in raising money for charitable causes and was a manger of the Charity Ball of Chicago, an important social event and fundraiser. She gave tens of thousands of dollars annually to philanthropic causes.

Palmer was one of the first very rich women to give practical as well as financial help to charities. Her focus was improving the education and economic status of women and she was a champion of equal pay for equal work. She became involved with the Chicago Woman’s Club which was established to study social problems. Members were a mix of working girls and society leaders. She became a patron of the Women’s Trade Union League and helped millinery workers in Chicago organize and improve their working conditions.

When Bertha Palmer died in 1918, she was the largest property owner on the North Side of Chicago. Under her astute management, the real estate holdings that she inherited from her husband in 1902 had more than doubled in value. She left more than $500,000 to various charitable organizations.