Augusta Allen and the Woodstock Dress

 Augusta Allen and the Woodstock Dress 
 

Born Augusta Davis in Indiana in 1869, Augusta’s family eventually moved to Ohio where they settled in what was then known as the Ohio Wilderness. There, she helped her father carve a small farm out of the woods by holding onto a cross-cut saw on trees so big, she could not see her father on the other side.

In later years, she married Willard Allen of Toledo who became a leading industrialist in that city as well as a patron of the arts. In 1913, however, at the urging of friends such as Birge Harrison, Allen would move his family to Woodstock to pursue his study of painting.

Arriving in Woodstock, Allen constructed a three-story home called Allencrest - on what is now Hillcrest Avenue. Today, the original Allen home serves as the site of the Woodstock Chapter of the American Legion.

Willard and Augusta Allen in front of their home "Allencrest" in Woodstock.

 

Having arrived in Woodstock, and no stranger to hard work, Augusta Allen began to put her considerable skills as a seamstress to work in an effort to supplement the family income - which had fallen considerably following their arrival in Woodstock.  Family members recall hearing the treadle sewing machine she used whirring all night long.
 

The primary result of her work was what became known as the Woodstock Dress. The dresses, made of cotton, velvet, taffeta and other select types of fabrics were soon in high demand by the women of Woodstock.
 

Assisted by her daughter, Ruth Greenwood Brown, who crafted many of the buttonholes, the dresses were worn on many different occasions in Woodstock. It could, for example, be a casual everyday dress to wear to the post office or to the market.  It was a favorite of females within the art colony and was also worn by many of the Cheats and Swings square dancers during exhibition dances in the 1930’s and early 1940’s.  One particular dress is known to have won first prize on an ocean liner bound for Europe.
 

In the early 1920’s, Mrs. Allen also made costumes for different balls and the Maverick Festivals.  She was an active member of the Guild of Craftsmen and one of the first to display her work at the Woodstock Market Fair.  Every Saturday, during the summer season, you could find her beautiful dresses and aprons on sale in the center of town.  Her Troleon skirts, blouses and quilted jackets with silver buttons were also very popular.  The dresses sold for $25.00 and her aprons went for $1.50.

 While many have attempted to recreate the Woodstock Dress over the years, few have succeeded. Like Augusta Allen herself, they remain a Woodstock original.