It is Christmas and the House is on Fire: Understanding Labor Relations in Late Nineteenth-Century Baltimore

Adam Fracchia

It is Christmas and the House is on Fire: Understanding Labor Relations in Late Nineteenth-Century Baltimore

Year: 2017

Summary

On Christmas Day 1877, a fire spread through a block of homes in the small quarry town of Texas in Baltimore County, Maryland. Although the fire destroyed the large stone rowhouse building, the flames also sealed the material record of the lives of a group of laborers and their families at that moment in time. Examining labor relations within the town of Texas and the wider Baltimore area in the latter half of the nineteenth century places these artifacts in context and helps to explain the possible cause and reaction to the mysterious fire. A comparison of similar sites in Texas and the Baltimore area shows the reality of working-class life and the effects of the industrial environment which still resonate today.

Cite this Record

It is Christmas and the House is on Fire: Understanding Labor Relations in Late Nineteenth-Century Baltimore. Adam Fracchia. Presented at Society for Historical Archaeology, Fort Worth, TX. 2017 ( tDAR id: 435359)