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Gift of Russell H. Jones, 2020.14.3a, Connecticut Museum of Culture and History
Belle Parkhurst Hall
Gift of Russell H. Jones, 2020.14.3a, Connecticut Museum of Culture and History

Belle Parkhurst Hall

American, 1883 - 1972
BiographyBelle Parkhurst Hall (1883-1972) was born in New Haven, Connecticut. She attended Hill-House High School and the Yale School of Music to study as a concert pianist.

In 1911, she married William H. Hall (1881-1933) of New Britain, Connecticut. After they married, the couple and their family moved to Walkley Road in West Hartford, Connecticut. They had five children: Katherine (1913-2003), William H., Jr. (1914-1999), and triplets, Constance (1917-2019), Janet (1917-1918), and Mary Lee (1917-1918). Janet and Mary Lee died during the flu epidemic of 1918.

Belle invented the "Easy Pack Dress Hanger" as a convenient ladies' travel hanger. She believed that a properly sized and shaped sturdy cardboard hanger could achieve better results for women's clothing, as they would be more pleasing to the shoulder line, could easily be packed in numerous quantities, and they would not rust.
Person TypeIndividual