Diamond Heels Hattie Wows Muncie

In the early 20th century, Harriett Mitchell Anthony, a.k.a. “Diamond Heels Hattie” and “Hattie Bell” made quite a splash in her hometown of Muncie for her extraordinary clothing and for her shoes set with diamonds in the heels.

Hattie was born into a wealthy Delaware County family in April, 1864. Her father, Harvey Mitchell, was a physician and landowner. Hattie graduated from Muncie High School in 1881. Five years later, she married Charles Haines Anthony in “one of the most brilliant and enjoyable affairs that has ever taken place in this city.” Anthony was the grandson of Samuel P. Anthony, a Delaware County pioneer physician, who had amassed a large fortune as a merchant and landowner. Charles Anthony added to the family fortune as organizer and president of Economy Gas Company and real estate developer. They had one son, Harvey.

Hattie had a great interest in clothing, jewelry, and travel and often combined the three. She became a frequent visitor to Washington, DC, New York City, and Palm Beach, Florida. At the Waldorf-Astoria in New York City and the Willard Hotel in Washington, Hattie was often seen wearing her designer dresses and plethora of diamonds on the hotels’ Peacock Alleys. Hattie soon became popular with the media in several cities and was mentioned in the newspaper of New York, Washington, DC, Indianapolis, and Chicago. After her attendance at a White House reception, The Washington Post reported that, with her diamond-heeled shoes, Hattie had one-upped Alice Longworth Roosevelt, daughter of President Theodore Roosevelt.

Charles died in 1921 and Hattie spent most of the rest of her life living in hotels, including the Waldorf-Astoria and the Hotel Roberts in Muncie. Betty Thornburg Love, author of Recollections of the Hotel Roberts, noted that “Her large hats, beautiful furs, fashionable clothing, and her walking stick with a crook in the handle made her a striking figure indeed. Her appearance was so regal guests must have thought she was a Queen of some country! She always arrived at the hotel with trunks of clothes even though she had planned to only stay a week.” Hattie died age 77 on June 1, 1941 in her suite at the Hotel Roberts.

In 1991, Ann Anthony Brophy donated several of her grandmother’s dresses, evening gowns, wraps, and boas to the Minnetrista Heritage Collection. Unfortunately, the shoes with diamonds in the heels weren’t included, but, if you look closely at this photo of her, you can see what appears to be diamonds.