Brick & Stories: THE MILL GIRLS IN STORY & SONG
Come learn about the first industrial mill in the United States at the Charles River Museum of Innovation and Industry. Join us as we address the role of women in industrial America. The tour explores the trials and triumphs of mill women who worked in Boston Manufacturing Company and the Boston Associates’ textile mills in Waltham and Lowell, MA. You will hear songs written by the mill women, recorded at a Museum concert performance by historical folk singer Diane Taraz, as well as artifacts and images of the women themselves. These working women act as a case study for industrialization in America.
The Mill Girls of New England are an iconic feature of early American industry. More than being a symbol of industrialization, they were the first industrial workforce in the U.S. These working women contributed to the growth of the American industrial economy, challenged the idea that women couldn’t be “breadwinners” and were actively involved in early workers rights movements and trade unions.
