From Homespun to Machine Made: the Rise of Women Wage-Earners in the Pennsylvania Anthracite Region

Author(s): V. Camille Westmont

Year: 2014

Summary

Archaeologists from the University of Maryland have been investigating labor history in the towns of Lattimer 1 and Lattimer 2, both located in the anthracite coal region of Northeastern Pennsylvania. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, men and young boys were frequently employed in the coal industry, while women and girls were employed in the silk and the textile industries, which had moved into the area to bypass the unionization efforts of textile workers in New England. The rise of women wage earners in the anthracite region changed household economies and traditional family norms. An exploration of the archaeological resources and historical records help to identify this changing lifeway.

Cite this Record

From Homespun to Machine Made: the Rise of Women Wage-Earners in the Pennsylvania Anthracite Region. V. Camille Westmont. Presented at Society for Historical Archaeology, Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. 2014 ( tDAR id: 437369)

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Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology

Record Identifiers

PaperId(s): SYM-81,05