Early Mill Life
By: Brian P.
Old mill foundation along the Chicopee River
Photo taken from Put's Bridge
Life in the early times of the Ludlow mills wasn’t that pleasant. A young boy named Hiram Munger had to work in the mills because his family was poor. Something terrible happened to a girl named Elizabeth Oatley, who worked in the mills, according to a popular poem. Some people even thought the mill workers were a bad influence on the town. Early mill work was difficult in “Jenksville,” the nickname for the part of Ludlow where the mills and mill workers were found.
Click here to read about stories from the earliest mill workers.