As holiday shoppers across Huntsville and Madison look for ways to support local businesses, the new Madison Mompreneur Holiday Shopping Guide arrives at an ideal moment. Featuring more than 100 mom-owned businesses—from handmade goods to educational services—the guide is designed to make local shopping more accessible and more community-focused during the busiest retail weekend of the year.

But behind the guide is a deeper story: the region’s long, often overlooked history of women shaping the local economy through resilience, innovation, and leadership. This year’s guide highlights how today’s mom-owned businesses stand on generations of Huntsville women who helped build the city’s economic landscape.

Madison Mompreneur, founded by Juliana Piper and Lauren Hooper, has submitted its application for 501(c)(3) nonprofit status. The transition will support its plans for future microgrants and expanded programming for local entrepreneurs. The Holiday Shopping Guide marks the newest chapter in a local narrative that began long before Small Business Saturday existed—one rooted in women stepping forward to create opportunities where none previously existed.

A Legacy Rooted in the 1800s: Rosa Herstein

One of Huntsville’s earliest documented women business owners was Rosa Herstein, a widow who assumed control of her family’s dry-goods and notions business in the late 1870s after the unexpected death of her husband, Robert Herstein. The Hersteins, among Huntsville’s earliest Jewish families, were documented in the city by 1860. Rosa soon found herself raising seven children while running a business during a period marked by Reconstruction and significant economic uncertainty.

Census records describe her as a “merchantress,” underscoring how uncommon—and remarkable—it was for a woman to be both head of household and head of business at that time. Rosa not only kept the business active for decades but also held property in her own name, including the long-standing Herstein home on Madison Street. At a time when women’s financial independence was legally and socially restricted, her success stands as one of Huntsville’s earliest examples of durable female entrepreneurship.

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Challenging Barriers: Lou Bertha Johnson

Decades later, another Huntsville woman helped redefine what was possible for local business owners. In 1946, Lou Bertha Johnson and her husband, Shelby, sought to expand their well-loved Grand Shine Parlor, a Black-owned shoe-shine and dry-cleaning shop that served customers across the city. When the City of Huntsville imposed zoning restrictions that prevented their expansion, the Johnsons appealed the decision, hired legal counsel, and pursued the case all the way to the Alabama Supreme Court. In 1947, the court ruled in their favor.

The ruling protected the family’s business and set an important precedent for other entrepreneurs navigating restrictive municipal policies. As a Black woman co-owning and defending a business in the Jim Crow South, Lou Bertha played a pivotal role in demonstrating that persistence and legal advocacy could shape more equitable business conditions. Her determination strengthened Huntsville’s broader business community at a time when racial and gender obstacles were substantial.

A New Generation of Innovators: Jennifer Wolverton of MARS

Today, Huntsville’s women business owners continue to build on that foundation, blending creativity, STEM innovation, and community-driven missions. One example is Jennifer Wolverton, founder and executive director of MARS (Microcollective of AI, Robotics, and the Sciences). With a background in engineering and a focus on reimagining education, Wolverton established MARS as a hybrid homeschool and STEM-focused educational program that pairs foundational academics with hands-on robotics and AI experiences.

Her organization is featured in this year’s Madison Mompreneur Holiday Shopping Guide, reflecting its role as a growing local resource for families seeking technology-rich learning opportunities. By introducing students to robotics and interdisciplinary science at an early age, Wolverton is helping prepare future contributors to the region’s technology-driven economy.

Her work reflects the same entrepreneurial drive seen in earlier generations of local women: identifying unmet needs, creating new models, and contributing to Huntsville’s long-term economic growth.

Why the Holiday Shopping Guide Matters

The Madison Mompreneur Holiday Shopping Guide is more than a curated directory—it is a continuation of Huntsville’s deep-rooted tradition of women-led businesses fueling local economic development.

According to the Institute for Local Self-Reliance, $100 spent at a local independent business generates roughly $45 in local economic impact, compared with only $14 spent at a big-box store. For shoppers, that means seasonal spending directed toward mom-owned businesses can produce a significantly greater impact on Huntsville and Madison’s economic ecosystem.

This year’s guide offers residents a simple and accessible way to support that impact.

From 19th-century dry-goods stores run by widowed mothers, to midcentury legal challenges that expanded business rights, to modern STEM-focused programs preparing the workforce of tomorrow, Huntsville’s story has always included women who elevated the community through enterprise.

With the release of the Holiday Shopping Guide, Madison Mompreneur is not only celebrating today’s mom-owned businesses—it is honoring generations of Huntsville women whose entrepreneurship helped shape the city and ensure that legacy continues well into the future.