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Contribution #344 of 365
Emily Fisher
Hotel Manager and Healing-Salve Entrepreneur
1850s–1890s
The contribution
How this work helped shape America
Born enslaved in Kentucky, Emily Fisher gained freedom and built a career in hospitality in Independence, Missouri. She managed a hotel serving travelers moving through the western-trails economy and developed a healing salve that she produced and sold commercially. Fisher's work combined lodging, personal service and product enterprise in a major transportation gateway.