Molly Houses, Homosexuality, and the Colonial World at Kingston’s Old Dutch Church

A presentation by Dr. Megan Rhodes Victor, Asst. Professor of Anthropology at CUNY Queens College

Long before Stonewall and the LGBTQ+ movements, and even before the founding of the United States, when America was an English colony, there existed a place for LGBTQ+ people called Molly Houses.

On Thursday, October 17th at 6:30p, as part of the Hurley Heritage Society’s ongoing lecture series, and in conjunction with the official 2024 Burning of Kingston event schedule, a special public presentation will be held at the Old Dutch Church in Kingston.

Until recently, little research has been conducted on the culture and lives of homosexuals during the English colonial era. Dr. Victor is part of a team of historical archeologists seeking answers and insights into the fascinating world shaped by molly houses. As taverns, molly houses were places where individuals could conduct social negotiation and form bonds of community. Taverns were largely male-coded drinking spaces in the eighteenth century, and yet these were also one of the few places where women – especially unmarried or widowed women – could work and even manage (or own) a business. This apparent gender contradiction may have played a role in taverns and inns serving as the location for molly houses.

According to Raleigh Green, organizer of the Hurley Heritage Society’s lecture series, “To better understand our history, we need to hear about the lives of its many communities, including those who have, for whatever reason, been overlooked.” Green says that over the last few years the Hurley Heritage Society has sought to shed historical light on communities less known to history, including LGBTQ+. “We hope that by learning historical perspectives from a wider range of voices, from the traditional to the lesser-known, we can better understand our world,” says Green.