Mary Paul In The Lowell Mills

The Lowell Mill system was a revolutionary new method of manufacturing that began in the early 19th century. Created by Francis Cabot Lowell in 1814, the Lowell system was faster and more efficient as it gathered many stages of the textile process under one roof. The Lowell system was soon favored over the old “putting-out system,” where work was contracted by a central figure to various subcontractors who completed work at their own facilities. Instead, workers of the mill worked on site, and were housed and fed by the company. This close proximity of labor led to a mass production of high quality products. In order to deal with the issue of finding labor, the Lowell system employed young women between the ages of fifteen and thirty-five. These women became known

This period was not only revolutionary for the textile industry, as it saw a major shift in the economic and social freedoms for women as well. Accounts of the Lowell system have been recorded by one “mill girl’, Mary Paul, in her letters that she sent back home to her father. In order to get a full scope of what life was truly like in the Lowell Mills, it is important to take a closer look at the writings of Mary Paul. Through these letters, we can explore Mary’s reasons for leaving for Lowell, and we can compare her experiences to those of another mill girl, Harriet Robinson. Mary Paul grew up in Woodstock and Barnard, Vermont. She was the third child of Bela and Mary Briggs Paul. At the age of fifteen, Mary had left home and began down her migratory path that would eventually lead her to working at the Lowell Mill. Throughout her life, Mary wrote home to her father, often detailing her experiences, describing what her