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Up to 20 girls were living in the Lowell boarding houses......
they fired the girls
mill-girls
In 1821, the Boston Associates purchased land and rights to the Pawtucket Canal located north of the city of Boston, Massachusetts. The Associates built several textile mills and enlarged the Canal for water power. The first mills opened in 1823, and for the next 25 years more mills and a network of power canals were built. By 1848, Lowell was the largest industrial center in America! The mills produced 50,000 miles of cotton cloth each year. The Associates needed a large work force for the busy mills. They decided to run their mills using a work force of young women recruited from New England farms. Lowell was known around the world for this innovative solution. Lowell "Mill Girls" were asked to work in the factories for a few years, then return to the farms or marry. Mill girls filled the city of Lowell, living in boardinghouses managed by the corporations. Mill life meant a hard day's work in which girls followed a strict schedule marked by the ringing of bells. Mill girls were expected to follow the company rules for curfew, church attendance and proper behavior. View the Timetable of the Lowell Mills from 1853 and the Factory Rules of 1848 to see if you could keep up with the mill girls! (click your BACK button to return here)
wage cuts
14 hours a day.
Most of the Lowell Mill Girls were between the ages of 15 to 35 years old. Many of them were young women in their late teens or early twenties.
2-4 dollars a week
lowell mill girls
A few girls who came with their mothers or older sisters were as young as ten years old, some were middle-aged. Most of them were between the ages of 16 and and a little older or a little younger.
Young single woman left their rural homes to work as mill girls in factory towns to earn money and gain independence.
Young single woman left their rural homes to work as mill girls in factory towns to earn money and gain independence.