Bridget Mason: A Real Estate Pioneer

Although she was born a slave, Bridget “Biddy” Mason eventually found fortune as

one of America’s first female real estate tycoons. Following a youth spent in bondage

in Mississippi, Mason travelled to Utah in 1847 after her owner converted to Mormonism.

The family later moved to California, where Mason petitioned for and won her freedom in 1856.

Mason spent the next decade in Los Angeles working as a midwife, and became one of

the city’s first black landowners after she bought a small piece of property for $250.

An astute businesswoman, Mason later sold some of the land for a profit, and went on to build

commercial properties in some of L.A.’s fastest-growing business districts. In time,