"Training to good conduct, and instructing in household labor:" Sewing at the Industrial School for Girls, Dorchester, MA

Summary

In the mid-19th century, a practical working knowledge of domestic arts, such as sewing, was necessary to navigate daily life.  However, excelling in these skills was seen as significant not only because of the functional use of the work, but also as associated with desirable personal qualities of neatness, thrift, and morality.  The Industrial School for Girls in Dorchester, MA was established not only to foster marketable trade skills, but also to improve the moral character of the young women it stewarded, providing potential for upward class mobility through its lessons.  Archaeological evidence of sewing practices at the site includes the presence of straight pins, tatting shuttle pieces, thimbles, bobbins, a sewing bird, and knitting needles.  This paper discusses how the archaeological evidence of sewing activities at the site compares with the Industrial School’s mission, and seeks to use related documentary records to evaluate the potential impact on the students who attended.

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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Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology

Record Identifiers

PaperId(s): 573