Women At Work: 
Work History of Women in America

Women on Farms

In a time where modern conveniences were few, a woman’s work on a farm was a full time job that began when the instant she woke up and continued until she fell asleep at night. Women did more than clean, cook, and make and wash clothing, they also helped with farm business and the education of the children. Catharine Beecher, a Hartford native, often spoke of and took pride in the power women held within the home or the “domestic sphere”and claimed the control women exercised over education and religion made them powerful influence on society.

< One of the positive aspects of farm life was the availability of food. Although this women would not be primarily responsible for harvesting the corn, she would have the daily chore of picking fresh vegetables and preparing dinner.

Exercising the Washboards
Columbia, 1894
Photo CD: 0542 File: Img0073.pcd

< Very few families around the turn of the century had the luxury of maids to do laundry. In middle and lower class families the mothers and wives did the laundry for the family. Because families were usually large and washing was done by hand laundry was a time and energy consuming chore.

Woman Standing at Spinning Wheel
Mystic, 1900’s
Photo CD: 4769 File: Img0080.pcd

< This woman is spinning yarn on a spinning wheel. By the 1900’s women did not have to spin wool at home but earlier in the 19th century many women spun wool both for their family and to supplement the family’s income. Some women did piece work, a small scale method of production used by manufacturing companies. It allowed women to work for a wage while remaining at home to care for the house and children.

< Some women performed jobs that were essential to the family business. Mrs. Kelly was an Irishwoman who drove a milk delivery truck, possibly for a husband’s or father’s farm. This is an interesting example of a chore that moved a woman outside of the home.

Link to other essays in this Journey:

>> Introduction: Women At Work
>> Factories and Unskilled Wage Labor
>> Church and Charities
>> Domestic Service
>> Women as Educators
>> Improved Educational Opportunities for Women
>> White Collar Employment
>> Women in War
>> Women in Music, Art, Literature

>> Guideposts
>> Suggestions for further reading