James Butcher was a Black native Washingtonian and entrepreneur who created delightfully detailed dollhouses out of his LeDroit Park home. After leaving his government job as a clerk in 1926, Butcher turned his hobby into a business. Each custom home took an average of four weeks to complete and was made to look real with electricity and small fireplaces. His wife, Jennie, created linens and selected the furniture and wallpaper. They worked out of their basement and soon began displaying the dollhouses inside local department stores. At the time, Butcher was part of a rising middle class of Black Washingtonians who found ways to thrive during the Jim Crow era.