THE MILL GIRLS

FROM FARM TO FACTORY

 February 2024

Discover American History

Meg Chorlian, Editor

John Hansen, Art Director
Pat Murray, Designer
Hayley Kim, Assistant Editor
Naomi Pasachoff, Editorial Consultant
Laura Woodside, Senior Vice President of
Education Products
Christine Voboril, Permissions Specialist
Barb Clendenen, Director of Circulation
Frances Nankin and Hope H. Pettegrew, Founders page page
Advisory Board
8 20
Eric Arnesen,
Professor of History
The George Washington University
Diane L. Brooks, Ed.D.,
Director (retired)
Curriculum Frameworks and
Instructional Resources Office
California Department of Education
Ken Burns
Florentine Films
Beth Haverkamp Powers, Teacher
Milford, New Hampshire
Maryann Manning, Professor
School of Education
University of Alabama at Birmingham
Alexis O’Neill, Author and
Museum Education Consultant
Lee Stayer, Teacher
Advent Episcopal Day School
Birmingham, Alabama
Sandra Stotsky,
Professor of Education Reform
21st Century Chair in Teacher Quality
University of Arkansas

For customer service,

please call 800-821-0115

Check out our

online teacher’s page
guides at www.cricketmedia 4
.com/teacher-resources/.

2020
EDITOR’S NOTE ABOUT THE COVER
This issue was organized through a collaboration of the Illustrator Lisa Fields created this month’s
2020
2020

Tsongas Industrial History Center, the Lowell National cover, capturing girls at work in a mill. For many
Historical Park, and the University of Massachusetts mill girls, their job was to stand and watch a
at Lowell Center for Lowell History, all located in machine—or multiple machines—to make sure
2020 Parents’ Choice Magazine
Gold Award Winner Massachusetts. Unless otherwise noted with an author nothing happened to prevent it from complet-
byline, the feature articles were written by staff members ing its winding of thread or weaving of cloth.
2019 Parents’ Choice Magazine
Gold Award Winner at the above sites.

2018 Parents’ Choice Magazine

Gold Award Winner

2017 Parents’ Choice Magazine

Gold Award Winner

2016 Parents’ Choice Magazine

Gold Award Winner

George Washington Honor Medal

Join us on
Award Winner
Indexed and/or Abstracted in:
Children’s Magazine Guide
Primary Search and Middle Search www.facebook.com/cricketmedia
Readers’ Guide for Young People
Readers’ Guide to Periodical Literature
 F EATU R E S A C T I V I T I E S
4 The Spinning Jenny 10 Let’s Go Shopping
by Katrin Schultheiss

8 To Lowell 36 All About the Mill Girls

Crossword Puzzle
12 A Day in the Factory by Will Bremen

16 Letters From a Mill Girl DEPARTMENTS

by Cynthia Overbeck Bix

20 Barilla’s Lilies 2 Getting Started

24 Did You Know?
26 The Lowell Offering: 38 In Other News
A Mill Girls’ Magazine 40 Going Global
by Bryan Langdo
29 The Fight for Reform 42 Say What?
page
32 Lowell: An Urban Park 24
44
45
Freeze Frame
Your Letters
With a Rich History 46 Spotlight On . . .
by Meg Chorlian
by Ebenezer
47 Dr. D’s Mystery Hero
by Dennis Denenberg
49 Just for Fun

page
32

Many mill girls grew up

Weft. Warp. spinning and weaving, so
Spindle. Bobbin. the process was familiar.
These words But living in a city wasn’t!
sound like a I can’t imagine
whole new living on my own
language! at 15 years old.

page
12
And no cell
phones to
call home!
 Getting Started

2
W
hen you hear the words “industrial revolution,” you
might think they have to do with a war. But the Industrial
Revolution in America was an economic revolution. It started
in the 1800s and lasted into the 1900s. During that time, the United States went
from a nation of small towns and farmers to one of big cities, big factories, and
big changes in how things were made.
The production of cloth was one of those things that saw significant changes.
Before 1800, most of the cloth in the United States was made by farmwomen
and girls in their homes. They used only foot-powered spinning wheels and
hand looms. By 1850, however, cloth was manufactured almost entirely by
machines in large factories. And those factories needed lots of workers.
Thousands of young women and girls, already familiar with the process of
weaving, left their homes on farms to live and work in new industrial cities. Mills are buildings
They became known as mill girls. For many young women, it was the first time equipped with
machinery for
they lived away from home. The experience presented challenges as well as processing raw materials
benefits. into finished products.
Lowell, Massachusetts, was one of the first industrial cities in the United
States. Built in the early 1800s, Lowell’s mills harnessed the power of the
Merrimack River that ran through the city. The story of the Lowell mills and
the mill girls starts at the beginning of the Industrial Revolution in the United
States. It proved to be a time of innovation and conflict. a

3
 The by Katrin Schultheiss

Spinning
illustrated by Victoria Marcelino
and Lydian Green

Jenny

T
British cottage industries in the he Industrial Revolution A ‘Thirst’ for Cotton
1700s included the manufacture of often brings to mind tall For centuries, England was the
textiles, with families spinning and smokestacks and huge facto-
weaving thread into cloth in their
world’s leading producer of woolen
homes.
ries filled with machines churning fabric. But by the mid-1700s, more
out mass-produced goods in the and more of Europe’s rapidly growing
19th century. But the ancient craft population wanted cotton. At the
of weaving underwent the most dra- time, most of the world’s cotton fab-
matic transformation earlier—in the ric was made in India. English cotton
second half of the 18th century. cloth was poorer in quality and more

4
expensive than the Indian version. Necessity—the Carded means combed
As demand for cotton in the world ‘Mother’ of Invention raw cotton to remove
debris, disentangle,
market soared, British merchants, James Hargreaves designed a solution and run the fibers in
industrialists, and craftsmen searched to the problem. At the time, most the same direction in
for ways to make their cotton cloth families in the weaving industry preparation for spinning
into thread.
production more efficient. farmed in summer months and spun
A problem in the production of and wove in the winter. Hargreaves
cotton cloth was that weavers used could not make enough money to
up thread at three to four times the support his family on weaving alone.
rate that spinners could make it. So, he also worked as a carpenter.
In the 18th century, spinning and Some time between 1764 and
weaving usually took place in peo- 1767, Hargreaves invented a simple,
ple’s homes. Every family member hand-operated machine. It was able
had a role to play: Children carded to spin eight spindles of thread or
the cotton fibers; women spun the yarn simultaneously, rather than the
fibers into thread using a spinning single spindle of the spinning wheel.
wheel; and men, often assisted by Hargreaves named his device “a
children, wove the thread into cloth. spinning jenny.” Because the jenny
The bottleneck in the produc- was small, inexpensive, and could
tion process became more severe be operated easily by a single person,
when inventions such as the carding many weaving families were able
machine and the flying shuttle made to buy one to use at home. English
the work of combing fibers and production of cotton cloth soon
weaving thread faster. To compete soared as yarn supply now matched
with India, Great Britain’s cotton the demand of weaving. Use of Hand wheel
industry needed to speed up the the jenny quickly spread. By
spinning process. 1788, approximately 20,000

The Spinning Jenny

Cord driving rollers
Spindles

Roller
driving spindles
Rovings
with thread
5
 Weft threads are jennies were being used in England’s could only be used in mills or facto-
horizontal threads weaving districts. ries. In 1771, Arkwright established
interlaced through
the lengthwise warp.
England’s first cotton textile factory
Warp threads are Problems Still Exist using water-powered frames. Soon,
those that run The jenny did not solve all the prob- about 600 people, most of them
lengthwise in a children, were working there.
lems of the cotton textile industry.
woven fabric.
For one, the yarn produced by the Over the next few decades, other
jenny was not strong. As a result, inventions led to further improve-
it could only be used for the weft. ments in production. New machines
I have a new The warp still had to be spun on improved the processes of carding
appreciation for the spinning wheel. In addition, the fibers and dying yarns. Steam power
the clothing I spinning jenny was designed to be allowed manufacturers to build
wear! factories anywhere they wanted.
used by families in their homes. Its
main impact was that it increased By 1812, about 100,000 spinners
the productivity of household weav- and 250,000 weavers worked in the
ing. Toward the end of the century, British cotton industry. Cotton tex-
though, larger jennies capable of tiles accounted for about 40 percent
holding many more spindles were of British exports.
built and were used in workshops
and factories. Lowell Begins
The possibility of mass- By the early 1800s, farmwomen in
producing cotton cloth opened up America began to buy high-quality,
with another invention. In 1768, colorful cotton cloth manufactured
Richard Arkwright, a barber and in Great Britain. That development
wig maker, invented the water meant that American farm girls no
frame. With watchmaker John longer had to spend as much time
Kay’s flying shuttle, created in spinning and weaving by hand.
the 1730s, Arkwright’s spinning Some rich New England busi-
machine produced cotton thread nessmen hoped to profit from
strong enough to be used as warp. Britain’s machine-made cloth, too.
Unlike the jenny, however, the new But the British would not share
The evolution of woven cloth, “frame” could not be operated by their inventions with Americans.
from cotton plant to final human power alone—it required Massachusetts merchant Francis
product, is illustrated here. waterpower. For that reason, it Cabot Lowell visited England in

warp
cotton
weft warp

bobbin

boil (seed pod)

shuttle
woven cloth

cotton plant

6
 1810. He observed and memorized In 1813, Lowell formed a corpo- Samuel Slater’s mill on the
how some of the cloth-making ration with other wealthy Boston Blackstone River in Rhode
machines worked. Returning to merchants. They built a five-story Island became the site of the
first water-powered cotton-
the United States, Lowell employed factory—the largest in the United spinning factory in the United
skilled mechanics to rebuild the States. Its big water wheels were States.
most important machine for weav- powered by the Charles River in
ing cloth—the power loom. Waltham. The factory contained all
Meanwhile, English mechanic the spinning and weaving machines
Samuel Slater had brought his and all the workers necessary to pro-
knowledge of British spinning duce cloth in one building. In went
machines to America more than 20 raw cotton, out came thousands
years earlier. He had set up spin- of yards of the finished product. It
ning factories in Rhode Island that was a huge financial success. The
produced thread. Slater employed corporation built a second mill in
spinners in his shop, “put out” 1818 and expanded with a third mill
thread to local weavers, and paid in 1820. FAST FACT
them for finished goods. The group wanted to construct Lowell’s 30-foot
others, but the Charles River could waterfall provided
not provide enough waterpower. power for the mills.
The partners found a large waterfall, More than five miles of
dam, and canal on the Merrimack canals also ran through
River, about 30 miles from Boston. the city.
They immediately hired crews to
erect factories. They named the
new mill city after Lowell, who had
weft
died in 1817. After hiring work-
ers to man—or “woman”—the
small loom many machines, Lowell’s first mills
a bolt of woven cloth
opened in 1823. a

7
 To Lowell

“I want you to consent to let me go to Lowell if you

can. I could earn more to begin with than I can any
where about here. I am in need of clothes which
I cannot get if I stay about here and for that reason
I want to go to Lowell or some other place.”

Lowell, Massachusetts, was

built at the intersection of
the Merrimack and Concord
rivers.
I n the fall of 1845, 16-year-old
Mary Paul wrote to her father. She
was performing housework duties
in a village near her hometown of
Barnard, Vermont. She wanted his
home to help support their family.
Earning some cash to buy clothes
or save for marriage was an added
incentive. The hustle and bustle of
city life also appealed to some girls.
permission to live and work in Lowell, To address parents’ fears that a
Massachusetts. With her father’s con- mill town was an unsafe place to
sent, Mary became a mill girl in one send their daughters, Lowell’s mill
of Lowell’s large cotton factories. owners built mill-affiliated boarding
Lowell’s mills attracted thou- houses. They also erected churches
sands of young farmwomen such and schools for their workers.
as Mary. By 1846, nearly 7,000 In the boarding houses, young
New England women were work- women and girls could rent a room
ing in Lowell’s 10 largest factories. and get three meals a day. The
Ranging in age from 15 to 30 years boarding houses were run by older,
old, many of the unmarried young respectable women who enforced
women already knew how to make the mill’s rules and monitored
cloth by hand. The promise of good the girls’ activities. The boarding
wages and a decent living encour- house matrons were required to
aged them to leave home to work report misbehaving workers to mill
in the mills. It meant one fewer management.
mouth to feed on the family farm. Adjusting from life on a family
And mill workers often sent most farm to mill life with strangers was
of the money they earned back difficult. The workday was tightly

8
managed and monotonous. Workers The women in Lowell’s mills held Monotonous means
signed a contract that bound them most of the machine-tending jobs boring and repetitive.
to follow the company’s rules and to in the cloth-production process. Overseers are those
work six days a week, 12 to 14 hours Although the women often trained who keep watch over
and direct the work of
a day, for at least one year. Workers newcomers, only a handful of them other laborers.
were on their feet all day. But became overseers. Men filled almost Supervisory means in
women who adapted enjoyed a sense all the supervisory positions in the the role of directing
an activity or a person
of independence and got to know mills. to make sure a task is
many more people and experienced Most women worked on and off done correctly.
more cultural events than they at the mills. In the summers, when
could have while living on a farm. water in the river was low, the facto-
Mill girls earned between $2.00 ries did not run. The mill girls went
and $3.50 each week. Those amounts home to help on their family farms.
were higher than the wages paid in When the farming season was over,
the few other occupations open to they returned to Lowell.
women at the time, such as teaching, Few women worked for more
sewing, and housework. After $1.25 than four years at the mills. Women
was taken out each week to pay for left the factories to get married, to
room and board, mill girls were free take other jobs, or to return to their
to spend or save the rest. Because rural homes. Some furthered their
prices for goods at that time were education and became teachers. But
much lower than today, what seems their experiences as Lowell mill girls
like a small amount of money today represented a dramatic change in
actually bought quite a bit then. their lives. a

9
 A n experienced mill girl living in Lowell in the mid-1800s
might earn $4 each week. Today, the average weekly wage of
a person working in a factory is about $630 per week. That mod-
ern wage is about 150 times more than a mill girl’s wage. To see
how much something that cost a nickel in the mid-1800s would
cost today, we can multiple $0.05 by 150 to get $7.50.
In addition to wages changing, prices have changed, too.
Listed on page 11 is a sampling of common items a mill girl might
have purchased and an estimated 1850 price. Another column
indicates an estimated cost in today’s prices of a similar item.
Keep in mind that we have many more choices today, from types
of milk and cheese to all kinds of books. The “Estimated Today’s
Price” column reflects a general price most closely matching a
product that was available in 1850. To figure out how today’s
prices compare to prices in 1850, multiply each item’s estimated
1850 price by 150. We’ve done the first item for you. Answers are
on page 49. a

10
 Item Estimated 1850s price Estimated
1850s Price X 150 Today’s Price

1. pound of sugar $0.08 $12.00 $0.87

2. dozen eggs $0.12 $4.00

3. pound of cheese $0.05 $5.50

4. quart of milk $0.03 $2.50

5. 12 concert tickets $1.00 $1,200.00

6. hardcover book $0.25 $35.00

7. leather shoes $1.00 $100.00

8. postage for a letter,

2 pages, 30-80 miles distance $0.20 $0.66

11
12
 t was 4:30 a.m. on a
Monday in 1844 when
the mill bell woke
Eliza Adams. She
wished she could
stay in bed. She had
been dreaming about
Sunday’s picnic along
the Merrimack River. Her
two mill girlfriends, Susan
The Boott
and Harriet, had been there. But Cotton Mill’s
the bell forced Eliza into consciousness. Her clock and bell
life in the mills ran by the clock and bells. tower called
Readying for work quickly, Eliza hurried workers into
out of her boarding house. With Susan and out of the
Lowell mills.
and Harriet, she headed for the nearby
Hamilton Mills, which were named after
the American patriot Alexander Hamilton.
As the sun rose, the three girls crossed a
bridge over Hamilton Canal. They passed
through a large iron gate, which closed
each morning at exactly 5:35. After that,
mill employees had to go through the
countinghouse. Latecomers were scolded and
sometimes even fired.
The three girls joined hundreds of other
workers, mostly other girls or young women,
streaming into the three enormous mill build-
ings. Each structure was five stories high and
made of red brick. The buildings formed a huge
rectangle around a long courtyard.
Eliza’s brother Nathan worked in the first building—
the picker house. Nathan and the other older boys opened
bales of tangled, dirty cotton and fed it into a machine. The
machine’s large, rotating metal spikes picked the cotton apart. A
current blew the cleaned, loose cotton into the air, while the dirt fell to the A countinghouse is an
ground. The workers then wrapped the loose material onto wooden spools in office where a business
performs accounting
three- to four-foot-wide sheets. These were called laps. and correspondence
Susan worked at a carder in mill number two. She helped Nathan unload functions.
a cart full of laps next to her carding machine. The machine consisted of a A picker house is where
foreign matter, such as
series of rollers with fine metal teeth. Susan picked up a lap and slowly fed it dirt, insects, leaves, and
into the rollers. She was very careful not to get the sleeve of her dress caught. seeds, were picked from
If that happened, her arm would be gone before the machine could be turned a fiber.

off. Susan shuddered as she remembered how Ann Graham had become its A carder is a machine
that combs the fibers.
latest victim just last month.

13
 The milling
process
started
with bales
of raw
cotton.

Older boys were hired

to do the initial work
of removing foreign
matter from
the raw
cotton.

Susan watched the machine’s teeth as

they brushed and straightened the cotton
fibers. The cotton sheets turned into
soft, untwisted cords about the size of
light ropes. Called slivers (pronounced
sly vers), they were combined into
rovings, wound gently onto tall wooden
cylinders, and taken to the spinning
room.
Harriet worked as a spinner.
Her machine had several
rows of spindles, with
a bobbin on each.
As the machine
ran, the roving was
twisted at high speed
Rovings are several
and then wound onto
slivers combined and the bobbins as finished
twisted together ready thread. As the bobbins filled,
for spinning.
Harriet replaced them with empty ones. The
Spindles are pins or
rods that hold bobbins bobbins would be wound onto spools and
or spools onto which used to weave cloth.
thread is wound.
A bobbin is a cylinder Spinners moved up and down their rows to
that holds thread make sure the cotton fibers remain twisted,
or yarn for spinning, connected, and continuously spinning onto the
weaving, knitting, or
sewing.
bobbins. Imagine the noise made by a room full
of spinning machines!

14
 When Eliza first
arrived, she had
been shown how
to thread shuttles
and tie weaver’s
knots. She was
a fast learner,
so she had
been moved up Spoolers watched
to the weave a machine that
room. The combined thread
sound of nearly from different
200 looms in one bobbins onto one
spindle. If a thread
area made quite a
broke, the spooler’s
racket. On Eliza’s job was to tie a knot
loom, more than so that the thread could
1,000 warp threads continue to spool.
emerged from a large
round spool called a warp
beam. The loom made different
threads go up and down at different
times, creating an opening through which a shuttle, carrying a
single thread, would go. Up and down went the warp, and back
and forth went the shuttle carrying the weft, until finished
cloth appeared.
Suddenly, Eliza noticed things were going wrong.
Three of the warp threads had broken. Plus, the shuttle
was nearly empty of the weft thread. Eliza imme-
diately hit a lever that shut off the loom.
She tied the warp threads and put a
new bobbin into the shuttle. She
moved quickly because she
was paid for each piece of
finished cloth. The longer
a loom was stopped, the
less money Eliza made.
Eliza was glad when
the lunch bell rang. The
afternoon went more
smoothly, and the first in
a week of 13-hour days came
to an end. Payday seemed a long
way off. a Girls oversaw loom
machines that wove the
thread-filled spools into fabric.

15
 Dear M
Editor’s Note: 14-year- am a ,
old Grace is a fictional I am ar
riv
character, but her The jo ed in Lowell Septem
then t urney seeme at last. My, ber 21,
1835
story is based on the he trai d migh w hat a l
me far n, I co t y lo n ot I h
u ldn’t h g a
actual experience of th er a elp bu . Bumping al ve to tell yo
Cousin way from h t think ong in u
mill girls.
like Pa Abigail o m e. how e the wa !
met m v ery mi g
pa’s e at th le was on and
a quick . She took m e depo carryin
peek a e straig t. g
The st t the t
o ht to h I knew her b
ree wn e rb y her red
togeth ts are lined w . How I longe oarding hou hair—j
er. And ith buil d to st se, so I u
there, so man ding af op and only go st
and ev y peop ter buil just sta t
Our bo erywhere. I le and
horses
ding, a r
ll crow e at it all!
a r d ing hou t ’s s o noisy a a n d d ed
Thirty
-six gir se is b
uilt of nd bus carriages hu and close
in a ro ls live y a nd brig rrying
om wi here, t red br ht. here,
is 14— t h o w o b e i c k . It
ld er girls d s i s t hree s
cheery
just m
y age! . I shar and four girl tories
, youn S h e is nic e a b ed wit s t o a room tall.
ger gir h a gir
say it,
bu t Su l name e and quiet. l name . Abigail is
becaus s an d M a W e share t d An
e we’re is a bit stuc ry and a fou he roo ne, who
are all n k-up. A rth gir m with
cramm ew girls. Sus n ne w
h i
l, S u sa
n .
a
ed in l a s I
pitche
r an d b ike hen n has been h pered to me shouldn’t
s in th e t
M rs . C
h
asin fo
r w a e chick re for five m hat it’s
m u st b a se keeps s hin g e n c oop. W o n th s
e ever the ho up. e have . We
n e ts , s so quie u se. The a singl
hawls, t comi re are e
An d w a n d c n g in t s u c h a
o ats o th e h o lo
e m u st
be in b in the entry use an t of rules! W
I m u st e d by 10 . W e m u st d h ang up e
fish ha say they fee o’clock n e v e r be ru
o u r bo
n
sh a n
One n d apple pie a lenty. Yeste
d us p . d e or l -
i rday’s o u d.
I know ce surprise i nd wa
r m b i scuits n o o n
Papa u s there and ho dinner was c
M am a se ar
, I am s d to think m e some boo tc od -
Well, I o eage e too b ks here offee.
r to o okish f w e can b
the mi had better s read them. or a fa
rm girl orrow.
ll to se top. It but, oh
e abou ’s almo
t getti st b ed ,
ng a p t
osition ime, and tom
. orrow
I go to
Your lo
ving G
race

16
by Cynthia Overbeck Bix

r 1, 1835
Octobe

from
in g down
lo o k amily.
M a m a , e r h ap s Papa is
r p a r t for th e f
Dear girl! P oing he
eal mill is girl d
I am a r o se e h see
e n rig h t now t C o t t o n Mill to
s
heav
t h in k so? to t h e Boott t b ric k building
Do you e f grea s, with
took m ection o e storie
o u s in Abigail a co ll ar e f iv
C mill is ildings eyes. I
w ork. The round. The bu lik e stern
a b o u t
alls all a ows, staring do
w n ge and
h w m y coura
with h ig d e d u p e r an d
p o n ro w of win in. But I pluck to b e a spinn
row u to go , I am
a lm o s t afraid r. A n d , glory be
was versee
e t o th e o ace
s p o k
o n d ay! to b e gin. o u r lo ving Gr
M scared Y
start on a little
Io w n I ’m

17
 b er 7, 1835
Novem
d.
a n ce I have ha re
the firs
t ch feet a
. T h is is so re a nd my
o o n er rs are
a r M am a , o t w riting s h ! m y finge
D e
me for
n o or y
o rg iv e o m p l a in, but— n in g , t he fact
F c r in
’t m ean to in the mo bling goes on
Id o n 4 :3 0
a scram p or
le n . t m y d ays. At . S u c h 5 o ’c lo ck shar
l abou anging
so swo t ell you loud cl d at the facto
ry by
t m e it h a
Le es u s w e d an wages. huge,
w e r b ell wak st all be dress r d a y ’s a c h in e s with
to u u rd
m . We m d losing o w s of big m ave never hea
our r o o t a n d r o each
in g l o cked o
u
a re r ows an s p e e d s. You h oller to hear
risk be room t top e to h gs in
t h e s pinning , all running a r lif e . We hav the looms rin
I n -belts all you nd of
e r driving l a tter in . T he sou
le a t h o u d c
all day
l o n g t flies
h a t e rrible, l le t s u p e c o t t on du s l. It
suc . It neve
r
t there
!
f fy—a f
in
in g awfu
r t a lk a m n o s o s t u so m e t h k.
othe
e v e n when I h u t t ight. It’s ts in my hair d o w n the bac
s s
my ear s are
window s me sneeze
and ge ll wet
ess is a thread onto r
ows
l l t h e , m y d r ws
A
h e r e . It make d of the shift e s t h at wind lu d e s long ro
everyw oo. By the en machin Each side inc walk
, t s p inning s . A ll day, I
gets h o t t h e t s id e s p in ! e th er
jo b is to tend s . I t e nd eigh o w fa st they t ie t h em tog
My bobbin at h m u st sa
r o w s of tall ’d b e amazed en threads. I e r se er keep
u k o v
an d ins. Yo or bro . T he
a n y bobb the lookout f hine too long
o f m c to the
d d own on o p th e m a u r r y back
a n s t e h :30.
up
ly s o a s not to s t o p work. W e factory by 7
quick l of us . k, we to th chines
e y e on al s a t 7 o’cloc hen it’s back a t my ma
sh a r p r in g d t ,I a m me in
h e n t he bell b r e a k fast, an er. After that e o u r way ho e’re
W , eat dinn mak ay, w
a r d in g house for our noon e e v e n ing. We our feet all d
b o th eing on e!
it all again 7 o’clock in m b a t t he tabl
We d o
time at
f r o h t dol-
lo sin g r e a ll s o tired fe ll a s leep rig . I earned 14
until c a y ’s wage
s ts
. B y t h en we
t s u p p er, Mar m o n t h I k e pt 50 cen
k ight a first
the dar p . L a st n l find my om and board
, an d
will he
lp.
o d r o yo u w il a h a lf all
like t e n closed r s f or my r
o
o llars and a r that we
a , ll a 8 d h e
M am ut 5 do o. I hope the sed to
be plea is our only da race
y off.
T h e y took o d m e t u w il l
lars. ou tol ow yo ay. It ing G
r m y s elf as y c h u r ch. I kn d e v e r y Su nd Y our lov
r
fo
this aft
e d atten
I write p a n y rule an
the com
follow

18
 Dear M
am a ,
Yester
day, A
how I n n e an Novem
wish y
after s ou cou d I walked in b er 3 0
, 1835
tore. A ld see to tow
such p nd all it! On M n for t
wit errima he
ful wo
retty c
lothes h glass wind ck Stre first time. O
e t, ther h
for yo
olen sh
awls! I
, an d h
ats, an
ows in
t h eir e is sto ,
d glov f re
u , M am
a . But
wished
with a es. The ronts, filled
earnin they c ll my h y h av w it h
gs. ost 3 d eart I c e such beau
There ollars— o ti-
town. are sev
e almost uld buy one
Lots o n c h a whole
newsp f the g urches, seve week ’s
apers, irls att ral ban
me to or e nd con k s , an d
be par borrow boo certs a a hig
ries an t of her k s from n d lecture h school in
d th e literar t s
But I m n read them y socie he library. A , subscribe t
t y . Sh n n eh o
and bu iss home so to the group e says the g as invited
stle. I h very m . irl
u n d er aven’t uch. H I am excited s write sto-
the tr g ot a m e r to join
I fear t ees and long oment e it’s all nois th e m .
h e t to m y e a n d
will fo w inter a o hear th se lf. I mi cla tter
llow, a h e ss
Until t nd soo ead will seem birds singing our brook
hen , I na dreadf .
hope m fter that I h ully lo
y earn o ng
ings ar pe I can com . But spring
e help e home
ing. to visit
.
Your lo
ving G
race

19
 illustrated by Michael-Che Swisher

E
Editor’s Note: This is a mma sat on the large boulder, The boulder on which Emma sat
fictional story based on true drawing her knees in close to was her daydreaming spot. It was
facts about life in the Lowell chase away the morning chill. at the edge of an old pine forest,
mills in the mid-1800s. Although it was the end of July, the high on a hill overlooking the farm.
valley of Maine’s Swift River stayed Everywhere Emma looked she could
damp and cool until almost noon. see the bobbing orange flowers her
Emma looked out across the family called Barilla’s lilies.
land and smiled. She loved this Emma loved the lilies, with
place. Her family had farmed here their tall, slender green stems and
for more than 150 years. Emma’s crowns of sunbursts. Each plant was
grandmother told her those had laced with shiny black seeds that
been hard years. Long winters, short looked like berries. Last summer,
summers, and rocky soil made for Grandmother had said, “Emma,
difficult farming. The last crop had I know you play among Barilla’s
been harvested 50 years ago. Today, lilies. It’s fine if you smell the
the barns were empty. Trees covered flowers or clip a few for the table,
the hillside, and the pastures were but never pick the berries. They’re
tall with grass and wildflowers. poisonous!”

20
 Emma’s mind wandered back Lowell, she could earn money to buy
to the night she had first learned things for herself and to help her
about the girl for whom the lilies family. So, Barilla traveled to Lowell
were named. Grandmother had said, with two other girls from Roxbury,
“When I was your age, Emma, my Maine.”
great-grandmother told me the tale “How did they even know about
of her sister Barilla. Now it’s my Lowell?” asked Emma. “That city is
turn to tell you. a long way from here.”
“The year was 1843. Barilla was “Well, they had heard about a
14. She and her family decided place called the City of Spindles
it was time for her to leave the from a man who was traveling
farm.” When Grandmother noticed through Maine. He was referring to
Emma’s horrified look, she added, Lowell. He bragged about the city’s
“Oh, believe me, it was a hard schools and libraries. He talked
decision to make. But after much of the money to be made and the
discussion, the family decided to people to meet. To Barilla, it all
send Barilla to Lowell to work in the sounded quite exciting.”
textile factories.” “What happened to Barilla once
“But how could they just send her she got to Lowell? Where did she
away? My parents would never do work? Did she make any friends?”
that,” exclaimed Emma. asked a wide-eyed Emma.
Grandmother smiled and nod-
ded. “I said the same when I first
heard the story. But Barilla wanted
to go. You see, she was one of 12
children. The family was having
trouble making ends meet. In

21
 “Barilla got a job as a weaver in keeper was cross and lazy. Barilla
the Hamilton Mills. She had to tend wrote that she served them day-old
the power looms that weave cotton coffee, dry bread, and crackers for
thread into cloth. I can’t imagine dinner. Barilla got so sick and run-
working in a factory all day long, lis- down that she couldn’t work. Then,
tening to the roar of those machines! she moved in with a young couple
But Barilla didn’t seem to mind.” who she said were ‘first-rate folks.’
Emma thought Living with them, Barilla ate well
for a minute, then and went back to work.”
frowned and asked, “So, Barilla liked Lowell?” asked
“Where did she live?” Emma.
“At first, Barilla “Well, Emma, I think she really
lived at one of the did like it at first, but over time,
mill-owned board- Barilla got very sick,” answered
ing houses. She Grandmother.
seemed to like it. She “How did she get sick?” Emma
wrote home that the wanted to know.
housekeeper made “No one was sure, but it was
good meals, did the thought to be from working in
laundry, and was very the mills. After all, Barilla worked
nice.” 14-hour days. The air in the weave
“That doesn’t room was hot and moist, and the
sound too bad!” said windows were kept shut to protect
Emma, relieved. the cloth. Those conditions bred
“No, it doesn’t,” disease. But Barilla stayed because
replied Grandmother. she liked the time after work in
“But Barilla’s friends Lowell. She loved window-shopping,
from Maine didn’t picnicking, and talking with other
get along with their girls her age. Barilla attended lec-
roommates, so the tures. She and her friends even took
three girls moved. the train to Boston once to see the
Their new house- Fourth of July fireworks.

22
 “In Lowell, Barilla could purchase field of lilies. She wondered if Barilla
ready-made things. She bought two had ever imagined just how many
new dresses, a bonnet, a cloak, and lilies her one gift would generate. In
several pieces of jewelry. Her favorite many ways, Emma thought that the
store was George Tebbets’ Fancy lilies were like Lowell: beautiful to
Goods, where she said ‘gold beads look at, but if you were not careful,
glistened in the window.’ the berries—like the mills—could
“She brought home a lily to her poison you. Eaves are the projecting
overhangs at the lower
mother after the first summer. The As Emma got up to leave, she edges of a roof.
lily was her family’s favorite flower. took one final look around. Barilla’s
Her mother planted it just outside tale was sad. But Emma imagined
the front door of the house. When it Barilla sitting in the same spot sur-
bloomed, she sent a letter to Barilla rounded by her beautiful lilies, and
saying that the lily had ‘grown the thought warmed her. She picked
almost to the eaves.’ Barilla was a lily then dashed through the field.
delighted and promised to get home She was late for lunch with her
to see it. grandmother. Barilla’s lily would be
“But Barilla never returned home. their centerpiece. a
The factory air made her so ill that
she developed a cough. She couldn’t
shake it. She died on August 22,
1845. She had been in Lowell less
than two years. She was only 16
years old.”
Shaking herself free from her rev-
erie, Emma sat up and gazed at the

23
 Know

are
?
illus

Weavers in Lowell’s first mills tended an average of

two power looms each. By 1876, inventions enabled
weavers to watch up to eight looms each. By the mid-
1800s, the Lowell mills employed more than 10,000
people and were turning out almost 50,000 miles of
cotton cloth each year.

Lowell mill girls earned between $2.00 and $3.50 per

week. They were paid in cash once a month. The cost
to live in a boarding house was $1.25 per week. That
money paid for room and board—a place to sleep and
meals to eat.
24
Factory bells dominated
daily life in the mills. Bells
woke workers at 4:30 a.m.
and called them into the mills
at 4:40 a.m. Then bells rang
workers out for breakfast
and back in, out for dinner
(lunch) and back in, and finally
out at the end of the workday
at 7 p.m. Curfew was 10 p.m.

Each boarding-house keeper food shopped, prepped,

and cooked three meals a day. She kept the boarding
house clean and tidy and washed the residents’ clothes
and linens. She also was responsible for the moral
welfare of her boarders.

Between 20 and 40
mill workers lived in a
boarding house. Each
bedroom had two or three
beds. Mill girls sometimes
slept two to a bed.
25
 “ ‘She has worked in a factory’ is his strong defense (left) of the virtue of female factory
sufficient to damn to infamy the workers appeared in the first issue of the Lowell Offering
most worthy and virtuous girl. So in 1840. The literary magazine was written and edited
says Mr. Orestes Brownson; and by mill girls. Its stories, articles, and poems described the lives and
hopes of the young women who worked in the textile city of Lowell,
either the horrible assertion is true,
Massachusetts. The Offering claimed that “our magazine is the only
or Mr. Brownson is a slanderer. I one which America has produced, of which no other country has
assert that it is not true, and Mr. B. produced the like. [It] is . . . evidence, not only of the American
may consider himself called upon ‘factory-girls,’ but of the intelligence of the mass of our country.”
to prove his words, if he can.” The 32-page magazine was published monthly. It grew out of
–Lowell Offering, 1840 church-sponsored groups of mill girls, who met in the evenings

Orestes A. Brownson was an

American labor organizer
who felt the Lowell Offering
should have done more to
point out the awful working
conditions in the mills.

Infamy is evil fame or

reputation.
A slanderer is a person
who makes false and
harmful statements
about someone.

26
to read aloud their writing. The girls produced so much material
that local minister Abel Thomas decided to publish the pieces. The
magazine was an immediate sensation. It won praise for its literary
excellence and for being written, edited, and published by working
women.
The Offering’s fame reached beyond the United States. British
author Charles Dickens and French novelist George Sand both com-
Many mill girls enjoyed
plimented the quality of the magazine. It also made an impression
their independence
on English sociologist Harriet Martineau. Martineau had visited the and developed good
mills in the 1830s. In 1844, some selections from the Lowell Offering friendships while
were shared with her. It prompted her to write an article, “Mind working in the mills.

27
 Among the Spindles,” in which she recalled her positive impressions of the
mill girls’ intelligence and thirst for knowledge.
The Lowell Offering was an important part of many mill girls’ lives.
They pasted pages from it on window frames and even on their looms so
they could read while they worked. Articles dealt with a variety of topics.
They included nature, astronomy, morality, and religion. Most articles,
however, were related to the girls’ lives on the farm and as factory workers.
They painted a favorable picture of life in the mills, though some called for
improved working conditions.
When the Offering ceased printing in 1845, some people argued that it
failed because it tried to remain neutral in a fight to shorten the workday
and did not side strictly with its major audience—mill workers. Other people
said that publications such as the Lowell Offering and the Voice of Industry
(a newspaper that favored a 10-hour workday) simply were too difficult for
workers to maintain.
From 1847 to 1850, the Lowell Offering was revived as the New England
Offering. The publications left an important legacy. They demonstrated that
women can work and be intelligent writers, readers, and thinkers. They also
were evidence that people were willing to pay to read what women write. a

HARRIET FARLEY: EDITOR AND REFORMER

O ne of the best-known mill girls was Harriet
Farley. She became famous as one of the
first female editors in U.S. history.
Farley also was an active member of the
Massachusetts Anti-Slavery Society. The society
urged an immediate end to slavery. She helped
Harriet was born in 1812, one of 10 children. raise funds,
Her father was a New Hampshire Congregational organize
minister. In 1838, the 25-year-old Farley went to fairs, and gain
Lowell, Massachusetts. Despite working 11 to attention for
13 hours a day in a mill and living in a crowded the antislavery
boarding house, Farley felt a sense of freedom movement.
when she could “read, think and write . . . without After edit-
restraint.” She began contributing articles to the ing the Lowell
Lowell Offering. She became its full-time editor in Offering from
October 1842. 1842 to 1845
As the magazine’s editor, Farley was criticized and then the
for not taking a strong stand in favor of a shorter New England
factory workday. Although Farley personally sup- Offering from
ported a 10-hour day, she believed that most mill 1847 to 1850,
employees would choose to work longer hours Farley moved to New York City. She was hired to
to earn more money. She did not favor public write for Godey’s Lady’s Book, a popular women’s
protest. She preferred to use the written word to magazine. She authored a children’s book, married,
persuade people to change their minds through and raised a daughter. Farley died in 1907 at the
reasoned argument and moral persuasion. age of 95.

28
The Fight for

illustrated by Robin Hansen

F
or newcomers
from farms, liv-
ing in Lowell,
Massachusetts, held
promise. It was a chance
to experience city life,
earn fair wages, and save
money for a decent start
in life.
But factory work was
hard. The dawn-to-dusk
schedule was not new to
farmwomen, but working
indoors in the high heat and
humidity (to prevent threads
from drying out and break-
ing) was different. Because the
windows were kept closed, there
was no cooling breeze. And workers
breathed in the fine cotton dust
and lint that hung in the air after
being spit out from the machines.
Lowell’s doctors treated numerous
cases of lung illnesses. In addition,
even after stuffing cotton in their ears,
many weavers suffered hearing loss from the
deafening sound made by the looms.
Inherent means existing
Danger to life and limb was inherent in the as an essential part of
factories. The mills’ machines had many moving something.
parts, which threatened hands, arms, hair, and
clothing. Major injury and even death occasionally
occurred. Cuts, bumps, and bruises were common.

29
 Strikes are work Lowell’s mills also eventually faced competition from other New England
stoppages by
employees in
factory towns built to imitate that city. Together, all the mills produced too
support of demands much cloth, so prices for the finished product fell. To maintain high profits,
they make on their Lowell’s factory managers tried to cut costs while expanding each worker’s
employers.
production level. They asked mill girls to tend three and four machines
Rescind means to
repeal or make void. instead of the usual two machines. Over time, the speed of the machines also
increased. Owners offered to pay overseers a bonus if their workers produced
more.
Mill girls responded with strikes and demands for labor reform.
The first large worker protest in Lowell occurred in 1834. When mill
agents announced a pay cut, 800 women went out on strike. But the agents
or top-level managers refused to budge. Within a few days, most of the mill
workers returned to the factories. In 1836, higher rates were announced at
the mill-owned boarding houses. The women
formed the Factory Girls Association, and
nearly 2,000 workers went on strike. That
time, the agents agreed to rescind the rate
increase.
Not all mill girls joined in the protests.
Many women intended to work only for a
short time. Other workers did not partici-
pate because they were raised in the
belief that women should not speak
in public and should avoid public
confrontations. Throughout
the 1840s, however, as new
mills were built and the need
for workers grew, labor reform-
ers continued to organize and
protest.
In 1844, led by Lowell
mill girl Sarah Bagley,
women workers formed
the Lowell Female Labor
Reform Association. It was
organized to improve health
conditions in the mills and
to lobby for a 10-hour workday.
Bagley became president of the
association. She saw it grow to nearly
600 members.
In 1845, Bagley led the association
to join with a statewide movement to
petition the Massachusetts legislature

30
to shorten the workday. Supporters
testified at state committee hearings.
They organized, gathered petitions,
and attended rallies. They also
published a worker-organized news-
paper called the Voice of Industry.
And at a time when women rarely
spoke at public gatherings, Bagley
became famous for her speeches.
Women activists argued that just
as their grandfathers had fought for
freedom from the tyranny of the
king of England, female workers—
granddaughters of those men—were
fighting for greater control over their
employment and living conditions.
Mill girl Amelia Sargent used words
similar to those of the Revolutionary
War patriots: “We will soon show
these driveling cotton lords, this
mushroom aristocracy of New
England, who so arrogantly aspire to
lord it over God’s heritage, that our
rights cannot be trampled upon. . . .”
Some of the mill girls sang a song
published in the Lowell Offering:

Oh isn’t it a pity such a pretty

girl as I,
Should be sent to a factory to
pine away and die?
But I cannot be a slave, I will
not be a slave,
For I’m so fond of liberty
I cannot be a slave.

The labor reform movement

organized in the mills did achieve
some victories. Some of the large Tyranny means unjust or
corporations in New England agreed unfair absolute power.

to establish a shorter workday in Driveling means

drooling.
1847. By then, many of the early
activists such as Bagley had left the
factories. a

31
 LOWELL
An Urban Park
With a Rich History
L
by Meg Chorlian owell National Historical signed a law passed by Congress
Park was more than a decade designating Lowell as the site of
in the making. It began with one of those historic urban parks.
a citizens’ grassroots effort in the A number of the original 1800s
mid-1960s. The people of Lowell mill buildings remained standing,
wanted to see the historic ele- but they were in need of restora-
ments of their city preserved and tion. A preservation commission
revitalized. A few years later, the helped determine how to proceed.
U.S. Department of the Interior, Today, Lowell National Historical
which oversees the National Park is part of the city’s historic
Park Service (NPS), announced section. COBBLESTONE spoke
a decision to create more than a with the staff at the park about
An original boarding house dozen new sites in or near urban how it brings to life the Industrial
remains standing next to areas. But it wasn’t until June 5, Revolution and the role of mill
Lowell’s Boott Cotton Mills. 1978, that President Jimmy Carter girls in the city.

32
How does Lowell came from other countries. Just A restored boarding house
National Historical Park like the New England mill girls, highlights what life was like
share the story of the these workers dealt with issues of for the early mill girl workers.
girls who worked in relocation and figuring out how to
the mills? navigate life in a new place. Even
Visitors can view the self-guided now with the factories closed, Lowell
exhibit “Into an 1840s Boarding remains a destination for people
House” in the Mogan Cultural from all over the world. This exhibit
Center. The exhibit re-creates a celebrates the many immigrant
dining room/parlor, kitchen, and groups that have contributed to
bedroom in a typical boarding house. Lowell’s growth and identity as a
It gives a glimpse into the lives of the multicultural city.
Yankee mill girls when they weren’t For a look at the work life of the
working. The center shows the types mill girls, the main exhibit at the
of food they were served, the dishes Boott Cotton Mills Museum shows
they used, and even the beds they a re-created 1920s weave room along
slept on. A display also illustrates the with traditional exhibits that show
types of things that the girls might the history of the factories in Lowell.
have done in their free time—such In the weave room, visitors can
as going on excursions, attending experience firsthand the sights and
lectures and concerts, and shopping. sounds of the power looms produc-
The Mogan Cultural Center also ing cloth. The second floor of the
is where visitors can explore the museum details the development of
“One City, Many Cultures” exhibit. Lowell as a factory town and also
From the early-1800s to the mid- highlights the process of producing
1900s, many of the factory workers cloth.

33
 How many of the
buildings are original
structures?
All the buildings that are encom-
passed or owned by Lowell
National Historical Park are origi-
nal structures. The park actually
owns only a few of the buildings in
the city, primarily one building in
the Boott Cotton Mills complex,
the historic boarding house, and a
house that was a residence for the
mill agents. Most of the original
mill buildings that remain stand-
ing are privately owned. They
An exhibit in the Boott For how long were have been rehabilitated to serve as
Cotton Mills Museum the mills in use? housing, spaces for businesses, and
captures the scale of the The first mill in Lowell—the mixed-use structures.
factories and the work that
was completed in the mills.
Merrimack Manufacturing
Company—opened in 1823. By the How did working in
Rehabilitated means start of the 20th century, several Lowell create positive
restored to good mills had closed, some had moved developments for young
health or useful life.
south, while some had continued to women in the 1800s?
Solidarity means a They had a chance to earn a wage.
produce cloth. Wartime demands
union of interests,
purposes, or during World War I (1914–1918) and They earned money of their own
sympathies among World War II (1939–1945) provided to spend as they chose, which
members of a group.
a bit of a boost, but the mills never might have included sending
fully recovered to their original money home to family members.
Visitors today can watch 88
historic looms weave cotton production levels. The last of the They also experienced some inde-
cloth in the re-created 1920s original mills—the Boott Cotton pendence. Although women were
weave room. Mills—closed in 1955. subject to the strict timetables and
rules of the mill corporation, they
enjoyed a fair degree of freedom.
They had “free time” when not at
work—which is something they
might not have experienced much
while living on family farms.
Lastly, mill girls discovered a sense
of solidarity. The opportunity to
live with and share experiences
with other like-minded women
produced a camaraderie that felt
new and unique. Occasionally,
that solidarity resulted in the
workers banding together to strike
for better wages and working con-
ditions.

34
Were there any negative
developments?
Health concerns were a big issue.
Working and living in close quarters
as the mill girls did meant easy trans-
mission of diseases. Airborne cotton
lint in the factory created short-term
respiratory discomfort. Long-term
dust exposure could lead to more
serious diseases such as brown
lung. Safety also was an issue. Long
dresses and long hair were potential
hazards in the factory. Clothing, hair,
and even hands could get caught in
machinery causing injuries. In the
1800s, there were no safety regulatory
agencies looking out for the workers weave on hand looms. Kids learn Reproduction trolleys, running
like Occupational Safety and Health how to weave different patterns and on tracks right alongside the
Administration (OSHA) does today. city’s canals, offer a fun way
experience the process of produc-
to get around the park.
If a mill girl was sick or injured and ing cloth themselves. Kids can also
couldn’t work, she didn’t get paid. try their hand at weaving cloth on
And if she didn’t work for a period of smaller looms in the museum.
time, she could be dismissed. Another popular thing to do is to
ride the rails on the park’s historic
What is the most popular trolley. The trolley runs seasonally,
event or program at the from April through November, and
park for kids? is free to ride! In addition to general
Some of the most popular things rides, the trolley also provides trans-
to do are our Hands on History portation to the museum and for
programs. They teach kids how to our tours. a

ALL IN A DAY’S WORK

T here is great variety in the work done by the
staff at Lowell National Historical Park. A typical
day for a ranger might involve working at the infor-
Historical Park is open seven days a week and nearly
365 days a year, so there are a lot of opportunities to
serve visitors in different ways. To learn more about
mation desk one half of the day and then leading a the park, go to nps.gov/lowe. —M.C.
canal tour for 25 people in the second half. Rangers
staff the museum floor and give talks to visitors.
They work on content for social media, the park’s
website, or the park’s newsletter. Rangers also might
spend part of their day doing research for an upcom-
ing tour or talk and then leading a tour of an historic
mill traveling on the park’s trolley. In the summer,
rangers attend local festivals, staff outreach booths,
and give tours on our riverboat. Lowell National

35
 All About th
C an you solve this crossword puzzle about life as
a mill girl in the 1800s? All the answers can be
found in this issue. The solution is on page 49.

ACROSS
3. Most of the girls who traveled to
work in Lowell’s mills came from small
New England _____.
5. This Massachusetts city was one of
the first industrial cities in the United
States.
7. The Lowell _____ was a literary
magazine written and edited by mill
girls.
10. Many mill girls lived in _____ _____,
which provided them with a place to
live and meals to eat.
11. Sarah _____ was a famous mill girl
who protested the unfair working
conditions in the factories.
13. Mill employees worked _____ days a
week.
14. Protesting mill girls organized a large
_____ after owners threatened to cut
their pay in 1834.

DOWN 6. The Lowell mills were built on the

1. Mill employees were called to work by _____ River.
the sound of _____. 8. Finished thread is wound around this
2. This machine had metal teeth that object.
combed rough cotton into soft 9. The horizontal threads in a woven
strands. fabric are called the _____.
4. The Lowell mills produced fabric using 12. Mill girls rarely worked in the mills for
this raw material. more than four _____.

36
he Mill Girls
C ro s swo r d Puzz le
by Will Bremen

1 2

8 9

10

11 12

13

14

37
 An Eventful
Decade
I
n the mid-1800s, in the same decades that mill girls were
keeping New England’s factories humming, these events
made history in the United States.

l o u s M e s sage ones,
A Miraancau
ge before c
omputers,
cell ph
g handwritt
en
ntury was sendin
The 19th ce p le co m m unicated by d ays to mon
ths
rn e t. P e o e re fro m
and the inte took anywh far away th
ey
th ro u g h the mail. It d in g o n h o w
rse
letters
re a c h p e ople, depen , 18 4 4 , S a m uel F.B. Mo
for letters to nother. But
on May 24 He sent a
lived fro m o n e a
legra p h machine. gton,
n st ra te d h is new te
u gh t? ”— from Washin
de m o d wro m, the
hat hath Go coded syste
message—“W n d . U sin g a ted.
., to B a ltim ore, Maryla p e o p le communica
D.C ged ho w ntly.
achine chan ceived insta
telegraph m be se n t a n d re
essages to
It allowed m

38
 America’s
Pastime
Versions of baseball—also referred to as “town
ball”—were played in the United States as early as
the 1750s. But the game really took off in the
1840s. By 1845, it was so popular that rules
were established to formalize the club
sport. Civil War soldiers organized
games during lulls in the fighting.
After the war ended in 1865,
former soldiers helped spread
the game as they returned to
their homes. By the 1870s,
professional teams were
created. Baseball
became America’s
pastime . . . played,
watched, and
loved by
many.

Gold!
While building a sawmill for John A. Sutter on
the American River, James W. Marshall spied bits
of gold in the water. The date was January 24,
1848. It took almost a year for word of gold’s
discovery in California to reach the populated
East Coast. Not everyone believed the story at
first. But U.S. president James Polk confirmed
the news in December. An estimated 100,000
people headed west the following year. They
hoped to strike it rich and find their own
gold. Some entrepreneurs made their for-
tunes by providing goods and services to the
gold miners. The California gold rush of 1849
led to the speedy settlement and state-
hood of California in 1850.

39
 G
GoINAL
GLoB

by Brya
La
n ng
do
Women at Work
A
ll around the world, women played a big
role in the Industrial Revolution. They’re
still making a difference—even today.

TOMIOKA
SILK MILL
In 1872, the Japanese
government wanted
to modernize the
country. Japan’s
biggest export was
silk. Making silk was
difficult, and it took
a long time. So, the
government built the
Tomioka Silk Mill. The
mill had modern silk-
reeling machines. The
machines made the
process much faster.
The government
recruited women
from all over Japan
to work at the mill.
The women moved
up the ranks as their
skills improved. Many
workers became
experts in silk
production. Some
women returned to
their hometowns to
start local silk mills.
Their efforts helped
move Japan into the
industrial era.

40
 The Match Girls
Strike
An 1888 article published in London
shocked the public. It described
the awful working conditions at
the Bryant & May Match Factory.
Women worked long hours with
few breaks. They earned little
money. They were fined for going
to the bathroom or talking. Many
workers developed bone cancer
from the chemicals used to make
matches. The public’s reaction to
the article prompted the women to
go on strike. They marched through
London, demanding better treat-
ment. Public pressure forced the
factory’s owners to meet the wom-
en’s demands. The strike also led to
the creation of the first women’s
union in Great Britain.

Hawassa
Industrial Park
In Ethiopia, many women migrate to
the Hawassa Industrial Park to work
at one of more than a dozen gar-
ment factories there. At Hawassa,
women can earn money and enjoy
some freedoms. But the working
conditions are tough, and housing is
expensive. And the adjustment from
rural life to city life can be difficult.
The Ethiopian government offers
some programs to help people.
But migrant workers don’t have
the identification papers needed
to be eligible for those programs.
So, many women have formed sup-
portive networks of their own. They
have pooled their money together
and offered loans to women who
get sick and can’t work. By banding
together, the women are slowly
improving their lives.

41
 s
nd saying
SHa y? buildings e
quipped
aT

rds a
r g ro u p o f fin-
W m ill is a “building o n g ra w m aterials into
A roces si d to refer
inery for p rd was use
wo
with mach lly , th e w o r
of p ro d ucts.” Initia n b u ilt near a wate
exp ns is h e d
all building
o fte
ttlement. T
he
loring the origi to a sin gle , s m
rain for a n e a rly se
, which
u rc e th a t ground g E n g li s h w ord mylen
s o e Old
es from th g grain.”
word deriv ill for grindin
ate r m
means “w

The mill towns of the 1800s we

re built along
rivers, which provided the power
to run
them. The Merrimack River pow
ered the
Lowell mills. Merrimack is believe
d to be
an Anglicized version of a Native
American
word for the river. It means “the
place of a
strong current.”

textile
t u s e d in the 1620s,
Fir s Latin
rigin to the
traces its o en cloth,”
x ti lis, m e aning “wov ith
te weave.” W
x te re , “ to
and te r cloth Until the mid
g ro w in g demand fo “resulting fro
-1800s, indust
rial was used
a of to mean
velopment m labor, as in
and the de industry “resulting fro w ork done by h
and” or
a c hin e ry , the textile from the Fren
m hard work
and diligence
m the
n d e d ra pidly during ch industriel,
which traces
.” It derives
expa . to the Latin n its roots
Revolution oun industria
Industrial When the ph
rase “Industri
, meaning “dil
igence.”
introduced to al Revolution
refer to the ra ” was
industry and pid developm
machinery, in ent of
something re dustrial cam
lated to the p e to mean
facture of raw roduction an
materials. So, d manu-
referred to m a word that o
anual labor n nce
ow refers to
machinery!
42
 In the ea
rly 1800s
destroye , craftsm
d textile en in Eng
against t equipme land
he advan n t to prot
avoided cement o e st
using skil f machin
quality p led work e s that
roducts. e r s an d m
referred T h e rioters a d e poor-
to thems in the 18
to the le elves as 0 0s
gendary Luddites
have des N e d L u dd , w , in a n od
troyed a h o wa s s
in the lat n English aid to
e-1770s. weaving
embrace To d ay, peop m a c hine
m o d er n le who d
to as Lud advancem on’t
dites. It ents are
or resist m eans “peo r e ferred
technolo ple who
gical cha oppose
nge.”

ns to “have
to h av e a sc rew loose mea
Today , e was
w ro ng w it h you.” The phras
something cotton
us ed in th e la te 1700s in the
first roduction in
e time, mass p
industry. At th eaper pro-
n m ill s m ea nt faster and ch
cott o avily
f fa br ic . W he n one of the he
duction o d,
br o ke d own or malfunctione
used machines se.”
ave a screw loo
it was said to “h
43
 ze
free e
fram
I n the early 1900s, photographer Lewis W. Hine began traveling
around the country, taking photographs of child laborers. He docu-
mented children younger than 10 years old working in factories
and fields, coal mines, canneries, and cotton mills (BELOW). The long
workdays, unhealthy conditions, and lack of educational opportuni-
ties led to child labor reforms in the mid-1900s, such as setting a
minimum age of 14 for laborers.

44
Yo URS
TTER
LE
Frederick Douglass
Frederick Douglass was an escaped
enslaved man in the late 1830s. He
learned to read and write while enslaved,
which was illegal for him to do. He
arrived in the free state of New York and
began to give talks about his life. Many
abolitionists went to hear him and his
speeches. Why do we all know about
Frederick Douglass? Other enslaved
people escaped from slavery. Why
is he so well-known? We remember
him because, thanks to his ability to
read and write, he could elaborate on
and share his opinions about slavery.
Frederick Douglass used a skill that
most people have access to and can
easily obtain today but was difficult
for him to earn. And he used it for
something good and inspiring. As he
said, “Once you learn to read, you
will be forever free.” He became
a well-known and well-respected
founding father of the civil rights
movement.
Caterina Rodriguez, age 10
Phoenixville, Pennsylvania

The Statue of Liberty

A National Road
The Summer Olympics

Draw a picture or write a poem or a short essay that connects to

one of the above COBBLESTONE themes on which we currently
are working. All contributions must be your original work.
Include a note from a parent or a legal guardian clearly stat-
ing: “This is my child’s original work, and COBBLESTONE
has permission to publish it with my child’s name, age,
and hometown, in print and online.” We will include
as many as we can in an upcoming issue. Mail your
submission to the address shown here, or email it
to cobblestone@cricketmedia.com.

45
 t
lIgh
Spot

on...
by
en
Eeze
r
b Women’s Herstory
H as reading about the Lowell mill girls made you curious about other
women who have left their mark on U.S. history? We suggest you
check out the National Park Service (NPS)’s Women’s History and
Travel Where Women Made History websites. The NPS created these websites
to share the stories of women who changed history. Links offer informa-
tion and specific sites to visit to learn more about America’s “extraordinary
women.” There’s information on figures you might recognize, such as Harriet
Tubman, Eleanor Roosevelt, and Rachel Carson. But what about conservation-
ist Elizabeth Thacher Kent? Scientist Mary Amdur? Paiute student Alice Piper?
These are just a few of the many women whose stories are available for dis-
covery by browsing these websites: www.nps.gov/subjects/womenshistory/
index.htm and www.nps.gov/subjects/travelwomenshistory/stories.htm.

46
 ’s
Dr. D
ery
Myst
Hero
erg
nb
nee
ni sD
by Den

Y ou load 16 tons and what do you get . . .

another day older and deeper in debt.”
Songwriter Tennessee Ernie Ford wrote
those lyrics about hardships in the coal industry in
the 1950s. But the song’s message also applied to ing conditions were awful. The factory was filled
the conditions in the U.S. clothing industry. with lint from the cotton. The lint covered our
This month’s mystery hero was a 20th-century hero’s hair and clothing. She breathed it as she did
“mill girl.” Born on December 31, 1940, she was her job of folding towels.
a member of a typical mill family in Roanoke Can you imagine a life filled with work that was
Rapids, North Carolina. Her grandparents and her so tiring and unhealthful? Our hero could not. She
parents all worked in the town’s mills, which were became an activist in the 1970s. Her cause was
owned by J.P. Stevens & Company. simple—start a union so that workers could join
Without any other source of employment or together to fight for their interests and welfare.
income, our hero knew she would follow in her Her true story became the Oscar-winning movie
family’s footsteps. The company controlled the Norma Rae. Can you guess our hero’s name?
town. It owned most of the small homes in which Answer on page 49.
the residents lived. It also played a role in the
local school’s curriculum. Students were taught
how to weave and how to fix a loom as part of
their education.
When our hero was in the 11th grade, she e r g—
De ne n b
D r. Dennis a n
started working at one of the textile company’s wn a s r mo re th
also kno roes. Fo ing
d sp ea k u s
factories. Her shift was 4 p.m. until midnight, six “Dr. D”— ry and real he a c h in g , a n
es 4
to g , te e ro
days a week! She reported to work immediately loves his e’s been writin ca. Visit www.h k and
a rs , h A m e ri g b o o
20 ye ll over innin
after school. Her pay was $2.65 an hour. The work- eroes a award-w
ab o u t h rn a ll a bout his .
lea ards
.com to ir tue trading c
h is H e ro -V
47
HAPPY LUNAR NEW YEAR 2024!
2024 is the Year of the Dragon, one of the 12 animal signs in the
Chinese zodiac. Name them all by completing this crossword puzzle.

1 2

3 4

5 6

7 8

9 10

11

ACROSS DOWN
1. As I hop around, I spread good luck, 1. People think I crow only at the crack of
mercy, and beauty. dawn, but I actually crow all the time.
3. People with my zodiac sign are often 2. I am a powerful, striped hunter,
honest and hard working, but we can symbolizing strength and courage.
also be stubborn.
4. Like Wilbur from the famous children’s
7. I am considered the unluckiest zodiac story, I am a logical thinker and kind—
sign and look similar to a sheep or ram. making me a wonderful friend.
8. As a mythical creature, I’m seen as very 5. Viewed as humankind’s best friend, I am
lucky and powerful. loyal and have a strong sense of justice.
9. I come first in the zodiac signs and am 6. In Chinese culture, I’m seen as a small
known to be a little judgmental. dragon and therefore carry similar mythical
meanings.
11. Swinging from tree to tree, I have a
zest for life and endless curiosity. 10. I love to gallop through open spaces, making
12. me a symbol of freedom and courage.

Answers: (ACROSS) 1 Rabbit, 3 Ox, 7 Goat, 8 Dragon, 9 Rat, 11 Monkey; (DOWN) 1 Rooster, 2 Tiger, 4 Pig, 5 Dog, 6 Snake, 10 Horse

Celebrate Lunar New Year with us! Join us for special events or try a Chinese language
class. Go to cricketmedia.com/eLearning to save your spot today!
 FoR
Fun Hey,
Kids!
We’re looking for a funny caption for this photo. Send your
idea, name, and address to: Just for Fun, COBBLESTONE,
1 East Erie Street, Suite 525, PMB4136, Chicago, IL 60611, or
email it to cobblestone@cricketmedia.com. Include a
note from a parent or a legal guardian clearly stating:
“This is my child’s original work, and COBBLESTONE has
permission to publish it with my child’s name, age, and
hometown, in print and online.”

It’s great
I am h ow
is contagiolaughing
b r e athe, ard! u s!
’t h
I c a n h i n g s o C , a g e 11
l a ug Mat t shire
Ham
p
Ia n, age 11
Mia mi, Fl
orida
non , N ew
Le b a

October Winners!
er
t j o k e n ev
T h a e t s o l d ! 12
g all, a
ge
H
Kate a, Georg
ia
W e a re h
a
laugh attving a
tt
Marie
a c k!
So phia Wig
ht, age 10
East Des
tin, Flori
da Answers to All About Mill Girls
Crossword Puzzle from page 36:
1 2
B C
3
E F A R M S
4

Answers to Let’s Go Shopping from page 10: 1. $12.00, 2. $18.00, 3. $7.50, 4. $4.50, 5. $150.00, 6. $37.50, C L R
5

7. $150.00, 8. $30.00 L O W E L L D
Answer to Dr. D’s Mystery Hero from page 47: Crystal Lee Sutton T S I
6
T M N
Picture Credits: ii (TL), 1 (BR), 8-9, 13 (L), 13 (R), 14 (T), 14 (C), 14-15 (B), 15 (T), 15 (C), 26, 26-28, 28 (B), 39 (TR), 45, 46 LOC; ii (B), 4, 7

44 Everett Collection/Shutterstock.com; 1 (C), 32, 33, 24 (T), 34 (B), 35 (T), 35 (B) NPS; 2-3, 36-37 Heidi Besen/Shutterstock. O F F E R I N G
com; 4-7 Lemonakis Antonis/Shutterstock.com; 10 (title) VIKTORYIA LEHUN/Shutterstock.com; 10-11 Matt Oaks/ N R
Shutterstock.com; 11 (TL) Dancestrokes/Shutterstock.com; 11 (CL) Reinhold Leitner/Shutterstock.com; 11 (C) Madlen/ 8

Shutterstock.com; 11 (TR) Volodymyr Krasyuk/Shutterstock.com; 12-15 travelview/Shutterstock.com; 16-19 (wood)

B R W
10
upixa/Shutterstock.com; 16-19 (paper products) Elise_E/Shutterstock.com; 32-35 quiggyt4/Shutterstock.com; 38-39 B O A R D I N G H O U S E S
Melchakov/Shutterstock.com; 38 ledokolua/Shutterstock.com; 39 (TL) PixelSquid3d/Shutterstock.com; 39 (B) B M F
ImagePixel/Shutterstock.com; 42-43 NayaDadara/Shutterstock.com; 47 Helga Khorimarko/Shutterstock.com; 49 (T)
Vladimir Turkenich/Shutterstock.com; 49 (B) Ian Dyball/Shutterstock.com; back cover Brian Lasenby/Shutterstock.
B B A G L E Y T
13
com S I X C E
N K A
14
S T R I K E
COBBLESTONE (ISSN 0199-5197) is published 9 times a year, monthly except for combined May/June, July/August, and November/December
issues, by Cricket Media, Inc., 1751 Pinnacle Drive, Suite 600, McLean, VA 22102. Periodicals postage paid at McLean, VA, and at additional mailing
S
offices. For address changes, back issues, subscriptions, customer service, or to renew, please visit shop.cricketmedia.com, email cricketmedia@
cdsfulfillment.com, write to COBBLESTONE, P.O. Box 6395, Harlan, IA 51593-1895, or call 1-800-821-0115. POSTMASTER: Please send address
changes to COBBLESTONE, P.O. Box 6395, Harlan, IA 51593-1895.
February 2024, Volume 45, Number 2 © 2024, Cricket Media. All rights reserved, including right of reproduction in whole or in part, in any form.
Address correspondence to COBBLESTONE, 1 East Erie Street, Suite 525, PMB4136, Chicago, IL 60611. For submission information and guidelines,
JOIN US ON
see cricketmedia.com. We are not responsible for unsolicited manuscripts or other material. All letters and contest entries accompanied by
parent or guardian signatures are assumed to be for publication and become the property of Cricket Media. For information regarding our
privacy policy and compliance with the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act, please visit our website at cricketmedia.com or write to us at
CMG COPPA, 1751 Pinnacle Drive, Suite 600, McLean, VA 22102.
www.facebook.com/cricketmedia
49
1st Printing Quad Sussex, Wisconsin January 2024
 ure
Feat

February 2024 Volume 45 Number 2 cricketmedia.com $6.95

River
Attractions
T he Merrimack River, along which the Lowell
mills sit, is home to a variety of waterfowl.
Take the great blue heron, for example.
Great blue herons can be found throughout
North America near bodies of fresh water. They
migrate some, but they also might stick around if
the water they live near doesn’t freeze. They rely
on wetland habitats to provide their food. They
survive mostly on a diet of fish. But they will eat
anything they can swallow, including frogs, tur-
tles, snakes, and small birds. From outstretched
neck to feet, the great blue heron has an average
height of 4.5 feet. Its wingspan can extend to
more than 7 feet!