Historic Preservation: Kate Mullany National Historic Site

Some of you may recall my daughter & I participating in a re-enactment of the Collar Laundry Strike of 1864 this past February. Well, on October 4, 2014 I was able to visit the Kate Mullany National Historic Site in Troy, NY with my aunt's DAR chapter.

The Kate Mullany House was declared a National Historic Landmark by the Secretary of the Interior in 1998 and designated an affiliated unit with in the National Historic Site Congress on 2005. It is located at 350 8th St. in Troy, NY. It is the home of the American Labor Studies Center. The site is undergoing restoration and does not have regular visiting hours. For information on visiting the site, call the American Labor Studies Center at (518) 331-4474. 

 The house at 350 8th St. is under renovation. The other half of the building at 352 8th St. is in foreclosure, and the ALSC is hoping to acquire it as well. Until that time, the renovations continue, as does the fundraising. For more information on supporting the restoration project, please click HERE.

The Kate Mullany house became a National Historic Landmark in 1998

My mom on the steps of Kate Mullany's House

The back yard has been recently landscaped

Kate & her Irish parents arrived in Troy in 1853

One of the exhibit panels at Kate Mullany NHS

Another of the exhibit panels at Kate Mullany NHS

Kate was inducted National Women's Hall of Fame 2000

 Read Kate Mullany's bio at National Women's Hall of Fame website.

Staircase leading to the 3rd floor

Original floors under modern bathroom linoleum

Lathe & plaster and modern plumbing

New old windows

Renovating the ceiling

Turquoise plaster over the brick fireplace

More renovations 

Me at the top of the stairs

3rd floor plan

Me in my "Don't iron while the strike is hot!" tee

Kate Mullany's grave at St. Peter's Cemetery in Troy, NY

Leaving a token to show I was there

The house is not open for regular tours during renovation, but call the ALSC for more information about scheduling your group visit.

Also, check out the PowerPoint presentation for more information on Kate Mullany & the Collar Laundry Strike.

Commemorating 150 Years: Kate Mullany in Troy

Did you know that there is a National Historic Site in Troy, NY? Yep, as in the National Park Service. I was not aware of it until this past Saturday.

You may recall I posted an event on the Town of Greenwich Facebook page last Friday regarding labor organizer Kate Mullany who lead the 1864 strike of collar laundry workers (women) in Troy, NY (aka the Collar City). 2014 marks the 150th anniversary of this event, lead by a teenager, which succeeded (after only 5 1/2 days) in granting the women better working conditions, higher wages, & shorter hours (the big 3).  Kate Mullany went on to become the 1st woman appointed to a National Labor Union post in 1868. The Kate Mullany House is located at 350 Eighth Street in Troy.


The event was sponsored by the Rensselaer County Historical Society. It consisted of a slide show while guests made there own strike signs. Then we marched down 2nd Street shouting like strikers. My daughter, was a bit embarrassed when I started shouting, though she didn't seem to mind the others shouting "Don't iron, while the strike is hot!" Here's a look at what you missed.

Making our strike sign for the Kate Mullany event 2014

I tweeted about our sign above.

Commemorating 150th Anniversary of Collar Laundry Strike here at @RensCoHistSoc #KateMullany. Daughter & I finished our sign. Walk next.
— Greenwich Historian (@greenwichhist) February 22, 2014

Some guests dressed the part

Slide show of the collar industry & Kate Mullany

RCHS Director, Ilene Frank, addresses the guests

Rensselaer County Historical Society (RCHS) in Troy, NY

Marching on 3rd St in Troy

Participating in the march on 3rd St in Troy

One of the photos I took I posted on my personal Instagram account (above).

We congregated in front of the NYS Dept. of Labor near the Farmer's Market

Educating the public about Kate Mullany

Strikers inside the winter Farmer's Market

Strike!

On a recent trip to Massachusetts, I visited the Lowell National Historical Park in the city of Lowell http://www.nps.gov/lowe/index.htm. I love old mills, as does my mother & daughter. One particular mill is the Boott Cotton Mill where they made cotton cloth on large, mechanized looms. In the "Mill Girls" exhibition nearby there is some talk about the strikes that occurred in Lowell. This got me thinking about the Dunbarton here in Greenwich & their one strike...

In October of 1937 a union was formed at the Dunbarton in Greenwich. (The Paterson & Kearney, NJ & Anniston, AL plants were already unionized by this time.) A 10% wage increase was agreed upon in May 1938, but was revoked in February 1939 after the US & Great Britain signed a reciprocal trade agreement. This made imported linen thread cheaper, thus hurting the market for US produced thread & twine. Both NJ mills strike & shut production down.

Odd Fellows Hall in Greenwich where strike meetings were held



After an unenthusiastic strike meeting the day before, only about 20 workers picketed the mill on February 13, 1939. Estimates have Greenwich strikers at 12. Nine days later only about 10 workers were striking. A February 25th meeting has workers severing ties with the Textile Workers Organization & forming an independent union. By mid-March all workers were back at the Greenwich mill. Workers at both NJ mills were still out on strike.

The NJ strike ended on April 19, 1939. Workers gained some ground with the wage reduction changed from 10% to 7%, essentially giving all workers a 3% raise from pre-May 1938 wages. Greenwich's independent union was recognized by the National Labor Relations Board (NRLB). 40-hour work week, time & a half on Saturday, one week vacation, & no pay reductions for one year were also approved. The Union hosted a party at the White Swan Hotel on October 14, 1939. Dinner was brought to the boiler room for Sam McCune, the only employee left on duty that night!

For more information:

*Ruddock, W. Linen Threads and Broom Twines: An Irish and American Album and Directory of the People of the Dunbarton Mill Greenwich, New York 1879-1952. Bowie, MD: Hertiage Books, 1997.

^ Reciprocal Trade Agreement: http://www.washingtontradereport.com/RTAAcanada.htm