Working Familes/Command and Control - Cumberland, Rhode Island USA
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N 41° 56.287 W 071° 25.903
19T E 298409 N 4645764
A pair of Rhode Island Historical Markers can be found at the Ashton Mills property immediately east of the Blackstone Valley Bikeway parking area. They describe turn-of-the-century life for the Ashton Village residents and workers in Cumberland, RI
Waymark Code: WM10BG0
Location: Rhode Island, United States
Date Posted: 04/07/2019
Views: 0
A pair of Rhode Island Historical Markers can be found at the Ashton Mills property immediately east of the Blackstone Valley Bikeway parking area. One marker describes turn-of-the-twentieth-century life for the Ashton residents and workers while its companion tells of their daily schedule.
The sign to the east reads:
Working Families
Mill owners provided the housing in front of you for the mill worker families. Children, parents, and, often, grandparents crowded into relatively small apartments.
Starting as young as five or six years old, children would work a few hours at a time. Their small hands could reach machine parts that older workers' hands could not.
From about aged 12 onward, workers operated spinning machines and looms. Elderly family members cared for babies and toddlers, did bookkeeping, ran the company store, or performed other light tasks.
The inset photograph portrays a family of five -- a father, a mother, a young woman, and two girls -- is captioned:
The Hadfield family came from England in 1918 to work in the mill. They lived in one of the homes you see before you.
The background is a full-color, current photo of the brick houses as they look today.
The sign to the south reads:
Command and Control
The Aston Mill's bell dictated almost every aspect of life for the residents. It was the village's official timekeeper. It woke millworkers before sunrises, and it marked the start and end of their workday.
For adults, this was usually from dawn until dusk or beyond. This meant a 12- to 15-hour day in summer, and up to 12 hours in winter, working by the light of candles or lamps.
The inset photograph portrays a gathering of child workers and is captioned:
The youngest children only worked a few hours a day. By the time they were 12 years old, they were working full-time, along with the adults.
The background is a current, full-color photo of the Ashton Mill along the bank of The Blackstone River as seen from above and to the northwest from the Jospeh A. Russo bridge, which carries Route 116/George Washington Highway between Cumberland and Lincoln, Rhode Island.