19th Century Reform and Control at the Industrial School for Girls in Dorchester, Massachusetts

Summary

An examination of the nineteenth century adornment assemblage from the Industrial School for Girls in Dorchester, Massachusetts, archaeologically excavated by Joseph Bagley and the Boston City Archaeology Lab during the summer of 2015. The school was staffed and administered by middle and upper-class Boston influenced by a Second Great Awakening reform movement, in which piety was the foundation for a number of reform efforts, including femininity, domesticity, and spiritual materialism. The institution was installed in order to train girls from broken, abusive, or unfit working-class homes in wholesome, feminine, and skilled domestic work. I have examined the adornment collection which includes, but is not limited to: beads, buttons, combs, buckles, jewelry, and headbands and contemporary Secretary Reports to understand how the staff and administration controlled the dress of the students and how their values and notions of class and gender influenced their decisions. 

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for Historical Archaeology 2018   •
• Schoolhouse Rock! 400 Years of Race, Gender, and Class in Boston Area Educational Institutions

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Spatial Coverage

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology

Record Identifiers

PaperId(s): 488