Americans share a common history that many trace their ancestry back to the
New England mill workers.
The founding of the textile mills accounted for much of the immigration in the
nineteenth century. For many rural Americans the mills represented the promise
of a better life through steady employment.
Our mill history is preserved in the Northeast's Blackstone River Valley. America's
oldest functioning mill, the Slater Mill in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, houses
collections of hand-operated and powered machinery. The federal government recently
designated the Blackstone Valley a national historic corridor because it served
as the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution in North America.
Slater Mill produced cotton yarn from 1793 through 1905. Built by Samuel Slater
in 1793, the mill stands on its original site on the Blackstone alongside the
Wilkinson Mill, built in 1810, and the Sylvanus Brown House, which dates from
1758. The site gives modern visitors an accurate picture of industrial and domestic
life in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries.
As the first river to use water power for industry, the Blackstone is the most
utilized river in American history. Almost every foot of its elevation was once
used to power mills along virtually the entire length of the Blackstone from
Pawtucket through Worcester, Massachusetts. Because it was the hardest working
river in America at the time, the mills located along its banks earned it the
nickname "the working river." Architectural and managerial copies of Slater
Mill appeared throughout Rhode Island, southeastern Massachusetts, and eastern
Connecticut -- and all used women and children to operate the machinery that
ran the mills.
Perhaps the best way to envision our ancestors at work is to understand their
lifestyle. By 1850, cloth was manufactured almost entirely by machines in large
factories. These machines were operated by thousands of young women who left
their rural homes to work in industrialized cities. While the jobs gave women
a chance to earn their own wages, their parents feared that cities such as Lowell,
Massachusetts would be dangerous and devoid of morals.
To counter their concerns, mill owners built boarding houses run by respectable
older women who could monitor the activities of the residents. Entire towns
sprang up around the factories, with housing created to meet the demand for
workers. In four-story boarding houses, girls often slept two to a bed, with
two or more beds in a room. Most young women were between fifteen and thirty
years old, and unmarried.
On average they earned $2 to $3.50 per week for thirteen- or fourteen-hour days.
They rose before sunrise and were at work before breakfast. They were still
at their machines when dinner was served since their workday often did not end
before 7 p.m.
Although the work provided a steady income, the girls who accepted such positions
put their health at risk. Forced to spend long days in factories with windows
tightly closed to prevent the threads from drying out and breaking, the workers
were subjected to intense heat and humidity as they breathed in the cotton dust
and lint from the machines.
Lung illnesses became commonplace, and many weavers suffered permanent hearing
loss from the noise of the looms. The machines themselves were dangerous, with
moving parts that posed a threat to arms, hair, and clothing, which could become
entangled. Competition among mills, pay cuts, and difficult working conditions
led to strikes and demands for labor reform. Most women lasted no more than
four years, resigning to marry or return home.
By capturing an earlier age, the historic mills of the Northeast give us a glimpse
into the lives of our female ancestors.
Born and raised in Rhode Island, Karen Frisch has been an avid reader since
childhood when she also developed an interest in writing and drawing. She has
traced her lineage back thirty generations to the year 1100 through England,
Scotland, Germany, and Wales. A former teacher, she received a Master of Arts
in Victorian literature from the University of Rhode Island, with courses at
the University of London, and holds undergraduate degrees in English and art
from Rhode Island College. She is the host and writer of "Pet Talk," an award-
winning cable television show on pets, and she is active with Volunteer Services
for Animals, working to aid homeless animals. She lives in Rhode Island with
her husband, a daughter adopted from China, and two dogs.
