Working in the Yard

When the Charleston Navy Yard opened in 1800, Boston 's skilled maritime workers provided a ready source of labor. As sail gave way to steam, and wooden hulls gave way to iron and steel, the work of building, repairing, and ...

The Working Farm

Ulysses S. Grant National Historic Site

White Haven was typical of large farms in the area during the mid-1800s. As times changed, so did its operation in terms of labor, equipment, and methods. Its two owners, Colonel Dent and Ulysses Grant, ...

Working Women

Historic Cannery Row

Prior to World War II, only women were allowed to work on cannery lines (top). In some canneries, only “white American women” were allowed to pack fish. Working the lines was considered “women’s work.” Even if there were ...

Working Class Neighborhoods

The history of a city is found not only in its grand old houses, but also in its neighborhoods. While Columbus has its share of grand houses, most residents did not live that lifestyle. Many working class people lived in ...

Watermen and Working Harbor

More than a dozen oyster houses ringed the waterfront by the 1870s, some built out into the harbor on pilings. Throughout the winter, local watermen harvested shellfish from the Bay and sold their catch to the packing houses. Shuckers, many ...

Working at Fish Camp

A job at Fish Camp in McFarland was not for the lazy or faint of heart. A former crewmember summed up life at Fish Camp as "8-10 gnarly guys with chest waders, suitable clothing, tough skin, hands weathered by days ...

New Harmony Workingmen's Institute

[Side 'One']

William Maclure and other intellectuals came to New Harmony 1826 to join Robert Owen's utopian experiment. Maclure established the Workingmen's Institute 1838 to serve as model of self-education for laborers. Operated in various New Harmony sites until construction of ...

Forgotten Lives; Working Class Families of the Canal Era Reveale

The Champlain Canal/Bemis Heights site is a residential site first occupied during the 1830s soon after the construction of the Champlain Canal. The highway (NY 32) was developed during the eighteenth century as a north-south passage between the heights to ...

A Working-Class House in the Capital City

Wealth makes all the distinction of classes in Philadelphia.

Duc de la Rochefoucault-Liancourt, 1783

The house of a workman stood here in the late 1700s when Philadelphia was the temporary capital of the United States. Its location is marked by ...

Working Together at the Dorchester Cooperative Center 1930s-1940

Dorchester Academy

The Industrial Arts Department at Dorchester Academy taught students practical skills they could use in everyday life. The boys took classes in farming, woodworking, iron-working, and architecture. The girls were instructed in cooking, sewing, dressmaking and related industries. Most ...