// Mill Houses // South Carolina // Privileged ?? // People These day's Have No idea How Hard My Parents and Gran Parents Worked //

 A row of houses of the cotton mill people. Lydia Mills, Clinton, South Carolina, December 1908

Library of Congress/LOT 7479, v. 1, no. 0384 [P&P]

During this era, it was common for the mill to control most aspects of life for the mill workers. They'd live in mill housing, go to a mill school, and shop at a mill store. It was common for children to come and go as they pleased in the factory, eventually lending a hand to an older family member and then getting hired when they were of legal age.

6:15 p.m. - Quitting time at Arkwright Mill in Spartanburg, South Carolina.

Library of Congress/LOT 7479, v. 5, no. 2979 [P&P]

A shift of workers is heading home after a hard day's work. Workers often went to work very early and worked ten or twelve hour shifts. The photo was taken in May 1912