Living in a Mill-Centered World

Living in a Mill-Centered World. . In the village, every aspect of the workers’ lives revolved around the mill. In addition to their homes, the churches, schools, and stores all belonged or were tied to the mill owners. While these places provided much needed social time for mill workers, they also served to extend the mill’s influence beyond the factory door. As an early twentieth century Congressional report asserted, “The company owns everything and controls everything, and to a large extent controls everybody in the mill village.” , Church provided an important spiritual outlet for the mill village community. However, management held influence over the church, providing money and encouraging pastors to promote values beneficial to the mill such as encouraging good work ethics and discouraging alcohol consumption. Even though owners encouraged attendance at the mill churches, some employees sought out other places of worship to avoid these pressures. , It’s just in the Bible that people is supposed to make their living by the sweat of their brow. They preached that. , Mary Thompson, draw in hand in a North Carolina mill, Although some mill owners built schools and paid the teachers, attendance was not mandatory. In the village, getting an education was rarely as important as holding a job. Parents or owners could require children to work instead of attending school. In some cases, children preferred working and aspired to jobs in the mill rather than higher education. Owners recognized that if mill children were not offered the same level of education as those in nearby towns, they were more likely to continue to work for the company. , Initially, company stores were a place for mill workers to purchase groceries and needed goods without having to travel into neighboring towns. However, providing a store also ensured that workers’ money would continue to come back into the mill. If mill workers were in debt to the store, they were less likely to leave the village for other work. By 1920, however, many companies stopped operating these stores. With increasing financial security for the mills, it was no longer necessary to restrict workers from spending outside the mill village. Many mill owners came to recognize that keeping workers in debt alienated them more than it ensured their loyalty. ,