Overseers in Lowell Textile Mills

Appleton Mills weave room workers with Overseer Domingos Veiga (center), ca. 1910. Lowell Historical Society Collection.

There’s a new section on the UMass Lowell Center for Lowell History website. It’s called “Overseers in Lowell Textile Mills” and it brings to life the stories of a class of management personnel often lost in our focus on the line-working Mill Girls and the wealthy Mill Owners.

Written by Gray Fitsimons with help from Zachary NajarianNajafi, Tony Sampas, Janine Whitcomb, Janet Pohl, and Meg Shields, this online exhibit features in-depth stories of 15 overseers including Ida E. Brown, one of the few women to hold management position in the Lowell Mills.

Unlike a physical exhibit that is displayed for a set time and then replaced, this one will be forever available. But don’t wait. Please check it out.