The invention of the first power looms started the textile industry and triggered the industrial revolution. The Spinning Jenny, invented in 1764 by James Hargreaves, was one of the very first power looms. Mill girls, also known as factory girls, were the ones that work them. Families hoping to earn more money, would usually be traveling from different farms into an urban society, hoping to get better jobs and wages. So when advertisements went up saying how they wanted girls and women to come work at the mills, many traveled far for the new job offer, leaving families to go work in the mills. 
Girls who left for the mills usually only left because of poverty, which caused many to go desperately in search for good money. Many women and girls who found jobs at the mills, thought working in a factory brought a sense of freedom, earning their own money without the help of parental authority or guardians. Also, boarding houses were provided as places to sleep, as well as a parlor, dining room, and kitchen. Despite all the benefits though, for some, it was compared to the life of a slave. Working for long hours every day, getting a low-paid wage, and living in harsh working conditions made it easy to believe that. I know for myself, that I don’t wake up every day to go to work, but to learn things at school. Working six days a week, mill girls were constantly laboring in the mills for 66 hours a week. Comparing that to my own life, I go to school for nearly half the amount of those hours.
A sample schedule for the mill girls in Lowell, Massachusetts went like this:- 4:30 AM the morning bell located in the center of the boarding houses rings for breakfast.
- 5:30 AM work starts, all girls and women heading out to the power looms for their jobs.
- 12:00 PM ring in for lunch with the bell.
- 12:35 PM ring out to commence work.
- 6:30 PM the bell rings so that the mill girls come in for dinner.
I wake up at 7:00 AM, and go to school for about 7 hours, far less than the mill girls. But the mill girls fit their education into their work schedule, going to church on sundays and taking evening classes at local high schools.
Around my age, which is 13, some mill girls got the desired job of drawing-in-girl. Drawing-in-girls, would make the beams ready in a loom for the weaver, and though this required some skill and nimble hands, this job was not demanding. They were paid by piece, not by the hour, meaning that the drawing-in girls could work at any pace they wanted. If a girl might want to read, than she could read any time she wanted, as long as she got the job done as a drawing-in-girl. The clothes that teens wore at the Mills were somewhat different to what I would wear today. While I will wear jeans and a t-shirt, Mill Girls wore dresses, stockings, shawls, coats, boots, and aprons. Activities at the boarding houses where the mill girls lived were similar to what I might do in my own free time. I’m an avid reader and love playing the piano, and the Mill girls in their own free time, would play the piano, read, or recite poetry from local newspapers or magazines. Mill girls were hard-working, and without their skills on the weave, we wouldn’t even have the tech today to make good quality clothes.
Image Sources: https://cullenshistorycorner.wikispaces.com/file/view/boardinghouses.jpg/127456513/639x479/boardinghouses.jpg
http://ocw.mit.edu/ans7870/11/11.001j/f01/lectureimages/4/image24.html
http://s222.photobucket.com/user/TheAutark/media/LowellMillGirl.jpg.html
http://www.teenagefilm.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/FactoryGirlsFeatured.jpg
Video Source:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pkJwOYagvuI
Sources for text:
http://ocw.mit.edu/ans7870/11/11.001j/f01/lectureimages/4/image24.html
http://milltimes.weebly.com/boardinghouse-living.html
Dear Rachel,
ReplyDeleteThis piece was very interesting because it offered interesting comparisons between the life of a mill girl in the Industrial Revolution and the life of a school girl in the Digital age. My one question would be, was there much prospect for advancement for a mill girl?
Sincerely,
William
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteDear Rachel,
ReplyDeleteI love the topic you chose to write about, and how in many places you compared it to your own life. I loved the part when you explained their schedule to us, and then compared it to yours. I know for sure I wouldn't have been able to wake up at 4:30 in the morning! My question to you is, do you think you could have been a mill girl? If you could be, what would be the hardest part for you? Once again, really good job!
Sincerely,
Francesca
Dear Rachel,
ReplyDeleteI love the topic you chose to write about, and how in many places you compared it to your own life. I loved the part when you explained their schedule to us, and then compared it to yours. I know for sure I wouldn't have been able to wake up at 4:30 in the morning! My question to you is, do you think you could have been a mill girl? If you could be, what would be the hardest part for you? Once again, really good job!
Sincerely,
Francesca
Dear Francesca,
DeleteThanks so much for the feedback on my blog post. To answer your question, I do think that if I wanted to be a mill girl, I could. It would be hardest for me to wake up in the morning at 4:30 AM, like you said in your comment, and not have as much break time as an adult to sit and read. Otherwise, I would be determined to work hard to weave clothes.
Sincerely,
Rachel
Hey Rachel,
ReplyDeleteI loved this post because of how you related your time at "work" to the hours of the hard worked mill girls. I wonder if next time you could try to go into a little more depth about how that effected the mill girl's families?
thanks,
Michael
Hi Rachel,
ReplyDeletevery interesting article. I didn't know much about the lives of mill girls until now. What was the age range for mill girls?
Awesome article!
- Patina
Hi Rachel,
ReplyDeletevery interesting article. I didn't know much about the lives of mill girls until now. What was the age range for mill girls?
Awesome article!
- Patina
Hi Rachel,
ReplyDeleteI like how you put a lot of details and pictures in the post. What was the pay of the mill girls?
Dear Rachel
ReplyDeleteI loved how you drew comparisons between mill girls and modern school girls today. I was wondering if Mill Girls were treated with prejudice in society.
Thanks
Eric
Hi Rachel,
ReplyDeleteThis was really interesting to read about. They had to do so much at such an early age. It makes me wonder whether they were more mature then because they had to grow up much quicker. How long were they mill girls, and did they ever get another job later?
Great job!
Téa
Hi Rachel!
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed how you compared your life to that of a mill girls. That would definitely be a hard life! Do you think that you, or other people in our class, would be able to be mill girls?
- Mikayla
Hey Rachel,
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed how you incorporated the facts about the mill girls' lives, and then also compared their life to your own. My question is, what kinds of jobs would the mill girls be able to get later in their life?
Nice post!
Thea T
Hey Rachel,
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed how you incorporated the facts about the mill girls' lives, and then also compared their life to your own. My question is, what kinds of jobs would the mill girls be able to get later in their life?
Nice post!
Thea T
Hi Rachel,
ReplyDeleteI love your title! Your post really pulled me in and was very informative and well written. Keep up the good work!
Anushka:)
Rachel,
ReplyDeleteI loved your post. It gave a lot of details about a mill girls life, as well as how that compares to you. I really liked how you gave their schedule, it told a lot, I know that I could not wake up at 4:30 to work all day.
I loved your post,
Meagan
Dear Rachel,
ReplyDeleteI really liked how you compared your life with a mill girls. My question to you is did boys ever work along with the girls?
-Emma
Dear Rachel,
ReplyDeleteYour blog post was very interesting and well-written! It was also very informative. However, I wonder what other kinds of jobs there were in the mill. Thank you for your time!
Sincerely,
Eve
Dear Rachel,
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed how thought out your blog post was! My question is, did the Women think that the job was worth it for that small amount of money?
-Bowen
Dear Rachel,
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed how thought out your blog post was! My question is, did the Women think that the job was worth it for that small amount of money?
-Bowen
Dear Rachel,
ReplyDeleteI really liked your blog post. I liked how you included the schedule of a mill girl. I also liked how you were able to compare your life to that of a mill girl's. You also included a lot of good information. What was the age range for the mill girls?
From,
Riley
Hi Rachel!
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading your blog post. I liked all of your information and the comparisons you made. Did the boys ever work with the girls? Nice Job!
- Isabel
Dear Rachel,
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed how you compared and contrasted your life to the life of a mill girl and I love how you were able to find some similarities and not just differences. What aspects of the life of a mill girl do you think you'd enjoy the most?
Dear Rachel
ReplyDeleteI loved how you drew comparisons between mill girls and modern school girls today. I was wondering if Mill Girls were treated with prejudice in society.
Ubedei
Rachelray,
ReplyDeleteI love how you compared your life to the lives of the mill girls! This post is the perfect blend between history and life today! What age were mill girls required to be to work? Did they even have age restrictions?
Best,
-Flexi