The Slate Picker's House

The Slate Picker's House. These are the smallest and oldest of the miners homes at Eckley. With only a living room and kitchen/dining area on the first floor, and a sleeping loft above, the poorest families lived here. , Men who lived here with their families were often hurt, older, or otherwise unable to work underground. They were called slate pickers because they worked in the breaker. They often performed a variety of menial tasks. Daily survival was difficult. Women and small children prepared meals, cleaned, washed laundry, hauled water, firewood and coal, tended the garden, canned, and fed the few farm animals they might own. , Many women took in additional laundry, scrubbed floors, performed seamstress work, or otherwise subsidized the family home. They would also sell or barter any extra produce, fruit, baked goods, and products from the animals. Girls went to school until about sixth or seventh grade, then worked in local factories or mills to further support the family.