Lycoming College - Lycoming County Women's History

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  • Location Covered = United States, Pennsylvania, Lycoming County, Williamsport
  • Subject = Women -- Employment -- Pennsylvania

About This Collection

Williamsport Women: Voices, Images, Actions-Source material related to the history of women in Lycoming County from Lycoming College, the Lycoming County Historical Society, and the J.V. Brown Library. Documents selected highlight the history of local women in volunteer and reform organizations, education, the arts, the workplace, and private lives. The first part of the collection will cover the time period 1875-1925. "This material will have national, perhaps international, significance as it relates to women's history and studies during a time period when there is a scarcity of materials about women's contributions to local communities. All three cooperating facilities are very limited in staffing and available hours, so the materials will reach users who either cannot physically come to the collections or did not previously know of their existence. This collaborative project is funded through an LSTA grant.
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Footwear plant employee Leah Tompkins sews shoes on her automatic stitcher
Women textile workers -- Pennsylvania, Women -- Employment -- Pennsylvania, Women shoe industry workers, Work
"Leah Tompkins works intently at her machine as she sews parts of a shoe together on her automatic stitcher...." Description from Lycoming County's Industrial Heritage by Robin Van Auken and Louis E. Hunsinger Jr.
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Franklin Hosiery Mill hosiery weaving class for local students
Women textile workers -- Pennsylvania, Women -- Employment -- Pennsylvania, Hosiery industry, Classes (Groups of students), Women--Vocational education, Education -- Pennsylvania -- Williamsport, Work, Education
"Girls learn hosiery weaving at the Franklin Hosiery Mill....The special class was conducted by the Williamsport School District in conjunction with the employment committee of the local chamber of commerce. More than 40 young women were enrolled in the class; 25 were later hired as employees of Franklin." Description from Lycoming County's Industrial Heritage by Robin Van Auken and Louis E. Hunsinger Jr.
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Herz and Kory Manufacturing Company machine stitching department employees
Women textile workers -- Pennsylvania, Women -- Employment -- Pennsylvania, Handbag industry, Work
"The Herz and Kory Manufacturing Company was a purse and pocketbook plant. Here, women work in the machine stitching department." Description from Lycoming County's Industrial Heritage by Robin Van Auken and Louis E. Hunsinger Jr.
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Joseph G. Smith Pajama Factory employees at sewing machines
Women textile workers -- Pennsylvania, Women -- Employment -- Pennsylvania, Pajamas, Work
"Women operate sewing machines at the Joseph G. Smith Pajama Factory....The firm was a branch of the main Smith factory in nearby Sullivan County. One hundred sewing machines were used at the Williamsport facility, which later became the Weldon's Pajama Factory." Description from Lycoming County's Industrial Heritage by Robin Van Auken and Louis E. Hunsinger Jr.
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Lucille Footwear plant employee Pearl Mayer wears protection from rabbit fur
Women textile workers -- Pennsylvania, Women -- Employment -- Pennsylvania, Women shoe industry workers, Rabbit fur, Work
"Pearl Mayer dons protection while working at the Lucille Footwear plant, located at 2000 Mill Lane in Williamsport. While she cuts, her mask protects her throat and lungs from rabbit fur...." Description from Lycoming County's Industrial Heritage by Robin Van Auken and Louis E. Hunsinger Jr.
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Lycoming Rubber Company employees in the shoemaking room
Women textile workers -- Pennsylvania, Women -- Employment -- Pennsylvania, Women shoe industry workers, Work
"More than 200 women toiled in the shoemaking room at the Lycoming Rubber Company plant." Description from Lycoming County's Industrial Heritage by Robin Van Auken and Louis E. Hunsinger Jr.
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Narrow Fabric Company employees wind thread
Women textile workers -- Pennsylvania, Women -- Employment -- Pennsylvania, Work
"At the Narrow Fabric Company, at 406 Bridge Street in Williamsport, women double and wind thread. Narrow Fabric expanded during 1933, moving 200 braiding machines to town from its plant in Brooklyn, New York....In 1955, the company merged with a New England firm and became Assembled Products of Williamsport and, in 1959, Trimtex." Description from Lycoming County's Industrial Heritage by Robin Van Auken and Louis E. Hunsinger Jr.
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Sybil Manufacturing Company seamstresses at work
Women textile workers -- Pennsylvania, Women -- Employment -- Pennsylvania, Work
"The seamstresses of the Sybil Manufacturing Company work in roomy new facilities at Elm Park. The firm had almost completed its move from the old quarters at Rose Street at the time of this photograph...." Description from Lycoming County's Industrial Heritage by Robin Van Auken and Louis E. Hunsinger Jr.
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Vogue Lingerie Company employee Sara Eiswerth presses slips on pressure forms
Women textile workers -- Pennsylvania, Women -- Employment -- Pennsylvania, Women lingerie industry workers, Work
"Sara Eiswerth, an employee in the pressing department at the Vogue Lingerie Company, hangs slips on pressure forms that emit about 80 pounds of live steam. Of the 250 employees at Vogue, all but 12 were women. There were eight different sewing operations on the garments in the slip-sewing section...." Description from Lycoming County's Industrial Heritage by Robin Van Auken and Louis E. Hunsinger Jr.
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Vogue Lingerie Company inspection department employees
Women textile workers -- Pennsylvania, Women -- Employment -- Pennsylvania, Women lingerie industry workers, Work
"Employees trim threads from slips in the inspection department of the Vogue Lingerie Company in February 1952. Pictured here are Nellie Smith (left), Mrs. Shire (center), and Hazel Smith. As many as 180 women worked in the slip-sewing section at the Vogue Lingerie Company, at 2928 West Fourth Street in Williamsport. The identification tag of 'Style by Vogue' was found inside garments sold all over the country." Description from Lycoming County's Industrial Heritage by Robin Van Auken and Louis E. Hunsinger Jr.
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Weldon's employees sew up pajamas
Women textile workers -- Pennsylvania, Women -- Employment -- Pennsylvania, Work
"Women sew up pajama sleeves in a flurry of production and Weldon's, at 1307 Park Avenue in Williamsport, to meet the demand of the 1949 Christmas Season...." Description from Lycoming County's Industrial Heritage by Robin Van Auken and Louis E. Hunsinger Jr.
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Williamsport Textile Corporation employee monitoring loom
Women textile workers -- Pennsylvania, Women -- Employment -- Pennsylvania, Shift systems, Looms, Work
"An employee monitors one of the numerous machines used at the Williamsport Textile Corporation. Greige fabric, the company's specialty, came directly from the loom, not requiring any process to convert it into a finished, dyed fabric. Of the 615 employees, 230 were women, who worked only on the first and second shirts." Description from Lycoming County's Industrial Heritage by Robin Van Auken and Louis E. Hunsinger Jr.
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Williamsport Textile Corporation employees entering yarn into a harness
Women textile workers -- Pennsylvania, Women -- Employment -- Pennsylvania, Looms, Spindles (Textile machinery), Work
"Women enter yarn into a harness before weaving begins at the Williamsport Textile Corporation. There were 592 automatic looms at the plant. Young women also handled a quilling operation separation from the other stages of making greige fabric. The quilling department employed several thousand spindles, and yarn was transferred from cons to loom bobbins to be used with warps int he weaving operation." Description from Lycoming County's Industrial Heritage by Robin Van Auken and Louis E. Hunsinger Jr
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