History & Notes: These dainty heels belonged to Belle O'Hagan Dewey. Belle was born in Ireland in 1855 and immigrated to the United States in 1965 when she settled for a time in San Francisco. Here she met widower Colonel William H. Dewey, Idaho pioneer, prospector, and entrepreneur. The two married in 1975. Colonel Dewey and Belle worked to open the luxurious Dewey Palace Hotel in Nampa Idaho that hosted presidents, politicians, and vacationers visiting the Treasure Valley. After Colonel Dewey's passing in 1903, Belle and her children took over management of her husband's many business interests. In the years before her death in 1918, Belle commissioned a portrait of herself and was portrayed wearing these shoes as part of her ensemble. The portrait was completed in 1917 and is held by the Canyon County Historical Society. In 1992, Belle's grandson, Robert Davis, donated the shoes to the Idaho State Historical Society.
Description: Pair of shoes with two inch heels. Lavender satin covered leather uppers with s seam running up the back. On the toe of each shoe is a gathering of lavender netting and purple ribbon roses. Insides are lined with white leather and canvas. Soles are hard brown leather, affixed with tiny nails. The heel is 3/4 of a circle, with a large nail in the center and ten small nails around it.
Object Number: 1992.053.0011
Object: shoe
Category: Personal Gear
Circa: 1900
Materials: satin, ribbon, leather, canvas, metal
Donor: DAVIS, ROBERT A.