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[barred_owl]

This topic is way out of my field, but I thought maybe I might invoke the collective wisdom of the Fora to track down a book that discusses New England textile mills and is either about or includes descriptions of the mills' company stores, use of chits to pay for company store goods, etc.  I know the book exists, but I'm not sure of when it might have been written (but has been around for at least the last 10 years or so), nor do I have any author information.

Sorry to be so sketchy on the details, but I do appreciate any leads you might provide.

Thanks, all!

[oldadjunct]

This is not remotely my area, but I am familiar with Lowell and its stories.  So.... you might want to try this http://www.amazon.com/Lowell-Offering-Writings-England-1840-1945/dp/0393316858/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1257555728&sr=1-3 with the hope that there is a decent bibliography.

[namazu]

Is it this one?
Samuel Slater and the origins of the American textile industry, 1790-1860
Barbara M. Tucker
Here are the details from Amazon:
"# Hardcover: 268 pages
# Publisher: Cornell University Press (December 1984)
# Language: English
# ISBN-10: 0801415942
# ISBN-13: 978-0801415944"

[barred_owl]

Thanks, namazu and oldadjunct!  I'm leaning toward the Lowell Offerings collection at the moment; the person who asked me to track this down would probably be drawn to women's stories of the time.  I'll send the link to her and find out.  I also did some Google Scholar searching and found several recent works (mostly chronology-type), but my understanding is that the book might have been published in the mid-1980s.   At least the detective work has been interesting!

Any other thoughts or suggestions are most welcome!

[the_honey_badger]

You probably are thinking of Ardis Cameron's "Radicals of the Worst Sort" which is focused on the Lawrence Strike of 1912 and women's roles in the labor movement in the NE mills but which has a good comprehensive overview of the history of the mills. It was published in the early 90s as I recall. It remains the most solid history of life in the mills.

 "Lowell Offering" is mainly writings by the young women recruited in the earlier 19th century efforts to get an industrial workforce through recruiting on NE farms (mainly of young women) and is primarily poetry and other writings that were "evidence" that mill work was beneficial for these young farm women as it cultivated their intellects and moral character. Once sufficient immigrant (read: abundant cheap) labor was available, the supervised boarding houses, mandatory church attendance, etc. was deemed too expensive and the switch to immigrant labor was made.

[history_grrrl]

barred_owl: BTW is probably right about Cameron, but if the book you're thinking of covers an earlier period, you might look at Thomas Dublin's work on the Lowell mills, including Women at Work. Alternatively, you might check Tamara Hareven and Randolph Langenbach's Amoskeag (on New Hampshire) or Mary Blewett's The Last Generation (also on Lowell), both of which are based extensively on oral history interviews with former textile mill workers.

Oops, just realized how old this thread is; guess I should stop procrastinating!

[barred_owl]

Thanks, history_grrrl!  No worries--the help is most appreciated!

[magistra]

Not exactly on point, but I saw this and thought of you!

Industrial Revolution Provides Millions Of Out-Of-Work Children With Jobs

[barred_owl]

Not exactly on point, but I saw this and thought of you!

Industrial Revolution Provides Millions Of Out-Of-Work Children With Jobs

Gotta love The Onion!  Thanks for the chuckles, magistra!

[dellaroux]

Not mills only, but there was a rather impressive work on the collapse of a dam upriver in Western MA that flooded out several towns downstream, a few of which were saved by a series of riders going as quickly as possible on horseback to get the word out before the waters roiled in.

Ah, it was the Mill River dam, mentioned in this rather comprehensive site:

   http://explorewmass.blogspot.com/2009/07/map-hampshire-county-massachusetts-1854.html

and the book was: In the Shadow of the Dam:

   http://www.amazon.com/Shadow-Dam-Aftermath-River-Flood/dp/0743223578

More cultural context, but some of the towns were mill towns, I believe.

The book is well-written, very intense, readable.