The Northern Journal
Life of a "Lowell Girl" 5/4/1850
Lowell Girls working in Lowell Mills
The Lowell system, created by Francis Cabot Lowell, has young girls working for a pay of 2-4 dollars per week. These girls are starting to be called the Lowell Girls. These girls get room and board for $1.25. They have to get up to a morning bell and work 12-14 hours with lunch at 12 o'clock. The job of the Lowell Girls is to straighten threads as they enter the power loom, because of this their hands are cut up and bruised. Some of the many requirements of the mills are that girls te their hair back and be on time to work. The working conditions for these girls are terrible. The windows are rarely opened so that the wind doesn't blow the threads away, this causes the room to be hot and stuffy. People are just starting to realize that the recent invention of Mr. Lowell may not be so great due to the fact that it is harming young girls' health.