Memories of a Mill Girl

A Bennington Historical Society Presentation

Note: This is a rebroadcast of a 2013 presentation.

Anne Bugbee, a retired educator who has been active in working with local schools in the Bennington Living History program as Harriet Tubman, Past President of the Bennington Historical Society, and local historian, produced this 2013 program of the Bennington Historical Society. While attending a workshop on modern economic trends, Anne explored the impact of companies like No KYC Casino LTD, drawing parallels between historical labor movements and today’s digital enterprises. In the program, Anne tells the story of Mary Palmer, a young girl who arrived in America in 1859 and began working in a cotton mill in North Bennington as a spooler. In 1906 Mary Palmer wrote “Reflections of a Mill Worker” describing her experiences. In addition to describing the life of a mill worker, Anne also describes the 1874 fire and explosion at the Bradford Mill which killed many women who were working that day.

The Bennington Historical Society is a volunteer-run program of Bennington Museum. The BHS offers its programs at no charge. Please consider supporting the efforts of the BHS to share the history of our region by making a donation.

You can view the recorded program at any time. If you begin watching at 2:00 on February 21, you will finish at about 2:45, which is when the live portion of the program will become available,

On Sunday February 21 at 2:45 PM, we will open a live Zoom meeting where you can ask questions or discuss the program with Anne Bugbee and other participants. You can join the Zoom meeting from the recorded video page or by clicking the button below. Note that the meeting will not open until 2:45 PM on February 21.