American Girl Founder Creates A Dollhouse-Worthy Village
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Pleasant Rowland, the founder of the American Girl doll brand, is much more than her most famous business venture. Yes, she created an “it” doll, but it wasn’t the first—or last—business venture she secured. After graduating from Wells College in 1962, Rowland pursued several careers, including education, journalism, and publishing. It was at age 45 that Rowland started the American Girl Doll company, funded, according to Forbes, with money she earned from royalties as a textbook author. The entrepreneur went on to sell the American Girl brand to Mattel for $700 million in 1998, and many haven't heard of her since.
But it was when Rowland returned to her alma mater, located in the upstate New York town of Aurora, that she brought her dollhouse dreams to the real world. “The four years I spent at Wells College, in the tiny village of Aurora, changed me forever,” Rowland told Vogue in a 2018 interview. So much so that upon arrival in 2001, she decided her next career calling was to revive the town from its crumbling state.
While the small, Finger Lakes village is home to many history buildings (it’s listed on the National Register of Historic Places), many of its properties had been abandoned since Rowland had graduated in the 60s. So she did what any good entrepreneur would do, and started a foundation, renovated several historic sites, and developed a few properties (and enemies) of her own on the way.
Some residents were unhappy with the development, claiming that it was turning the town into something inauthentic and artificial. But Rowland was determined to revitalize the parts of the town that needed it most, while bringing in a little of her own flair, too.
Today, Rowland’s most striking development includes a resort with five inns, the Inns of Aurora, all located on the same tree-lined street and designed to reflect the town’s historic architectural styles. In addition to the five inns, there is a farm-to-table restaurant, a pub, a village market, an activities center, and a demonstration kitchen. Just last summer, a 15,000-square-foot wellness center, the Spa, was opened to the public—according to the New York Post.
In a note written on the Inns of Aurora’s website, Rowland wrote “Please hang onto your dreams, keep on being the best that you can be, and some day one of you will be president. Of this, I am sure.” It’s a message that may resonate more with the American Girl customer than the typical Aurora resident, but perhaps that’s the point?
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